Salem's development code requires exterior lighting not to shine or reflect onto adjacent properties or cast glare onto the right-of-way. Fixtures must be shielded from direct view, or held to five foot-candles, measured five feet outside the lot.
Salem is not a formal Dark Sky community, but Salem Revised Code 800.060 sets a real exterior-lighting standard within its Urban Development Code. Lighting must not shine or reflect onto adjacent properties or cast glare onto the public right-of-way. Exterior fixtures must be located and designed so that the light source, viewed at five feet above the ground and five feet outside the lot boundary, is either completely shielded from direct view or produces no more than five foot-candles of illumination. This is a development standard that primarily governs new construction and larger projects rather than every existing single-family porch light. Unincorporated Marion County's rural zoning has no countywide dark-sky mandate, and other cities set their own rules. Confirm requirements
Non-compliant exterior lighting on a regulated development is enforced by Salem planning and code enforcement, typically through a notice to shield, redirect, or dim the fixture to meet the SRC 800.060 glare and foot-candle standard.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Marion County has no ordinance banning backyard composting, and no permit is needed for a home compost pile. It must not become a nuisance, attract rodents o...
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Marion County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating residential artificial turf. Installation on private property is generally allowed. Check d...
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Marion County does not require any particular plants and does not ban native or xeric landscaping. Ornamental landscape grasses that are not a fire or traffi...
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Oregon law lets you collect rain and snowmelt from a rooftop or other artificial impervious surface without a water right. Marion County has no ordinance ban...
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Marion County itself sets no residential watering schedule. In Salem, the Public Works Director may curtail water use whenever a supply shortage or emergency...
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All of Marion County outside city limits is a weed control district. Landowners must destroy designated noxious weeds and stop them from seeding. Inside the ...
See how Marion County's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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