Battle Creek, MI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

The shielding standard is in Battle Creek Codified Ordinances § 1260.03(a)(1) and (a)(4), with prohibitions in § 1260.03(b). Section (a)(1) says all outdoor lighting must be directed toward and confined to the ground areas. Full cut-off fixtures must be used to prevent light from projecting above a ninety degree horizontal plane, and the code points to Figure 19 for an illustration of the shielding. A bare, unshielded fixture does not meet this test.

Up-lighting gets a separate rule in (a)(4). All up-lighting used for the external illumination of buildings must be placed and shielded so as to not interfere with the vision of persons off the property. The code does not ban facade lighting, but it ties the placement and shielding to the vision of people outside the lot.

Fixture height is capped in (a)(5). Lighting fixtures in non-industrial districts cannot exceed twenty-five feet, measured from the finished grade to the top of the fixture. In industrial districts the Planning Commission can approve fixtures up to thirty-five feet if lighting over twenty-five feet has no adverse impacts on surrounding land uses and the natural environment.

The prohibited lighting list in (b) goes further. Flashing, moving or intermittent illumination of outdoor features is prohibited. No outdoor recreational facility, public or private, can be illuminated after 11:00 p.m., except to conclude a permitted event already in progress before then. The use of laser source light or any similar intensity light for outdoor advertising or entertainment is prohibited, and so is the operation of searchlights for advertising purposes.

Exempt from the section are fixtures placed by a governmental agency in the right-of-way, decorative holiday lighting and pedestrian walkway lighting, although the Zoning Administrator keeps the right to enforce standards that minimize glare and reduce light pollution. The City of Battle Creek in Calhoun County enforces these standards through its Planning and Zoning staff.