Albany, NY Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 375-408 of Albany's USDO governs all exterior lighting citywide, including new installations and fixture replacements. Light trespass onto neighboring lots is capped at 0.1 footcandle, except where the property borders a walkway, driveway, or street. No bare bulb or filament can be visible from a residential zoning district. On commercial sites, driveways, parking areas, and internal walkways must use cutoff to full-cutoff shielded fixtures, exempt only for low-wattage lights sited at least 150 feet from a residential lot line. Fixtures must also hit a color rendering index of 80 or higher; low-pressure sodium and mercury vapor lamps are banned outright.