Bowling Green, KY Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Bowling Green does not have a stand-alone outdoor lighting ordinance or DarkSky-recognized lighting code; it is not listed on DarkSky International's roster of certified lighting codes. Site lighting for commercial, multi-family, and institutional development is reviewed under the joint Zoning Ordinance adopted by the Warren County Fiscal Court and the cities of Bowling Green, Oakland, Plum Springs, Smiths Grove, and Woodburn (BG Code Chapter 27). Design and site-plan review is administered by the City-County Planning Commission (warrenpc.org, 270-842-1953), which applies general glare-and-spillover controls through the development-review process; specific section text should be confirmed with planning staff. Single-family residential exterior lights generally are not subject to engineered glare standards but remain subject to nuisance complaint review under BG Code Compliance. For dark-sky enthusiasts: Mammoth Cave National Park, roughly 30 miles north of Bowling Green, was certified by DarkSky International (formerly IDA) as an International Dark Sky Park on October 28, 2021 - the first such designation in Kentucky. The park certification required evaluating and retrofitting more than 700 outdoor light fixtures, developing an outdoor-lighting management plan, and committing to dark-sky public programming. That certification, however, applies to the National Park's own lands and outdoor lighting, not to municipal lighting standards in Bowling Green.