Yuba County, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Yuba County regulates outdoor lighting through Development Code Section 11.19.060 (Lighting and Illumination) and the performance standards in Section 11.26.070 (Lighting and Glare). While the county has not adopted a formal International Dark-Sky Association ordinance, the code achieves a dark-sky-style result by mandating shielded, full-cutoff fixtures. Section 11.19.060 provides that 'all lighting fixtures shall be shielded so as not to produce obtrusive glare onto the public right-of-way or adjoining properties,' and that 'all luminaries shall meet the most recently adopted criteria of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) for "Cut Off" or "Full Cut Off" luminaries.' The code prohibits certain fixtures: drop-down lenses, mercury-vapor lights, and 'searchlights, laser lights, or any lighting that flashes, blinks, or moves.' Applicants may be required to submit photometric documentation. By its applicability clause, Section 11.19.060 applies to new multi-family residential and non-residential development, changes of use, and additions that expand floor area by 10 percent or more - it does not retroactively apply to existing single-family homes. The maximum height of lighting fixtures is also regulated. Together with the foot-candle light-trespass limits in 11.19.060/11.26.070, these standards control sky glow and spillover from larger developments in the unincorporated county.