Alpine County, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Despite Alpine County's extremely remote, high-Sierra setting and naturally dark skies, the county has not adopted a standalone dark-sky or outdoor-lighting ordinance. A review of the zoning General Requirements and Exceptions (Chapter 18.68) found no provisions on outdoor or exterior lighting, glare, illumination, light pollution, or shielding, and the General Plan Land Use Element likewise contains no dark-sky or night-lighting policy. Lighting is addressed indirectly: the Planning Division's plan-set submittal requirements ask applicants to show lighting fixtures on building elevations, so exterior lighting is reviewed case by case during permit review. Within the Markleeville Townsite, projects undergo Markleeville Design Review under Chapter 18.56 and the adopted Markleeville Design Guidelines, and the Kirkwood and Bear Valley areas have their own specific plans and review, any of which may impose lighting conditions on individual projects. The county sign code (Chapter 18.74) also limits sign illumination and prohibits flashing or animated signs. New detached ADUs must include solar panels, a sustainability measure rather than a lighting rule. Because there is no codified countywide dark-sky standard, owners who want strong night-sky protection should rely on good neighbor practices and any project-specific design-review conditions.