Bolingbrook, IL Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Under the Village of Bolingbrook Code of Ordinances, subdivision and development design standards in Chapter 30, Section 30-173(f), set the village's shielding-based lighting controls for new development. Every luminaire used for outdoor lighting, except for a narrow set of approved uplighting applications such as landscape, architectural, flag and ground-mounted sign lighting, must be a full-cutoff luminaire installed in the proper orientation to achieve full-cutoff performance with respect to a horizontal plane, and all under-canopy lights must be fully recessed into the canopy so no bulb is visible from off-site.

The code separately bans, in every zoning district, the use of a laser light source, flickering, flashing, blinking, scrolling or rotating lights, and any upward-directed lighting beyond the permitted uplighting exceptions. , or one hour after closing time, whichever is later; after that window only security lighting capped at 25 percent of the property's total permitted output is allowed, and no fixture may exceed the brightness it showed during normal hours. A developer submitting a lighting plan for village review must include a photometric grid, luminaire schedule and a signed certificate confirming the owner understands the permitted-hours limit.

Because Chapter 30 governs subdivision and development of land within village jurisdiction, the shielding mandate attaches at the plan-review and permitting stage for new or reconstructed lighting rather than as a retrofit requirement. Exempt are pool and fountain lighting, holiday lighting, flame-based yard lighting, and lighting required for road construction or public improvements.