Brentwood, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Brentwood does not have a standalone "dark sky" ordinance with color-temperature caps or a lighting curfew. Instead, the zoning code folds outdoor lighting control into the performance standards every office, commercial and industrial zone must meet. 004(B)(2), the Heat, Glare and Humidity provision governing the CO, COB, COR, CR, C-1 and C-2 zones, requires that any operation or activity producing glare be conducted so direct and indirect illumination measured at the lot line does not exceed one-half foot-candle, and mandates that exposed light sources be shielded so flickering or intense light does not create a nuisance across lot lines.

004 extends this identical performance standard to the IC (industrial/commercial) zone by cross-reference, and near-identical Heat, Glare and Humidity language, at a one-foot-candle threshold, recurs in several planned development zone chapters, so the shielding duty follows nonresidential development citywide rather than sitting in a single chapter. The rule targets glare escaping onto a neighboring lot, not interior brightness, so a business may light its own site brightly as long as fixtures are aimed and shielded to keep the spillover under the cap at the boundary.

The community development department reviews lighting plans at site-plan and design-review stage and can require refitting a nonconforming fixture. 030(A) must use shielded light standards no taller than 14 feet, and accessory dwelling units must have outdoor lights shielded and directed downward under the city's ADU standards. Brentwood has not adopted a broader residential dark-sky mandate outside those specific-use rules.