Austin's Outdoor Lighting Code (Land Development Code §25-2) requires fully-shielded fixtures and caps color temperature at 3000K on new installations. The code aligns with Texas HB 916 and surrounding Hill Country dark-sky reserves protecting McDonald Observatory. Non-essential commercial lighting must dim or extinguish by 11:00 PM.
Austin's outdoor lighting standards are codified in Land Development Code Chapter 25-2, Article 4, Division 5. All new outdoor luminaires must be fully shielded, with the source not visible from any adjacent property. Color temperature is capped at 3000 Kelvin on new installations, and the code sets a lumen budget per net acre that includes all parking, canopy, wall-pack, and landscape lighting. Although Austin sits roughly 450 miles from McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains, the city coordinates with the Hill Country Alliance and supports Texas HB 916 (2011) and SB 1900, which created statewide dark-sky protections within a 57-mile radius of McDonald. Several Hill Country counties (Blanco, Llano, Gillespie) have IDA-certified Dark Sky Communities, and Austin's downstream lighting choices affect long-distance sky glow visible at McDonald. Non-essential commercial lighting must be dimmed at least 50% or extinguished by 11:00 PM. Sports fields, hospitals, and gas-station canopies have specific glare-control requirements.
Initial notice with 30 days to correct. Continuing violations are Class C misdemeanors carrying fines up to $500 per fixture per day under §25-2-1009. Permit renewal and Certificate of Occupancy require lighting compliance.
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See how Austin's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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