Buena Park, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Buena Park has no IDA dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning environmental-effects standards function as a basic light-control rule. The code requires that lighting on any premises be directed, controlled, screened, or shaded in such a manner as not to shine directly on surrounding premises, and that lighting be controlled so as to prevent glare on driveways, walkways, and public thoroughfares. The use of unshaded clear bulbs in exterior lighting is prohibited. These provisions appear in the city's development standards on environmental effects (Title 19). The general nuisance standard reinforces this: all uses and activities must be operated so as not to be hazardous, obnoxious, or offensive due to illumination or glare detrimental to public health, safety, and welfare. For signs, the sign code separately requires that illumination be fixed and steady and directed or controlled to prevent glare on streets, walkways, and residential property, with no blinking, twinkling, motion, or appearance of motion. There is no specific lumen cap, color-temperature limit, or mandatory shut-off hour in the city code, so this is a performance-based standard rather than a numeric dark-sky standard. Residents with a lighting concern should contact Code Enforcement. These are the incorporated city's standards, not Orange County's. (Note: section numbering was updated in a 2024-2025 zoning-code reorganization; confirm the current citation with Planning at 714-562-3620.)