Canton, OH Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances Section 1185.02(e) sets a hard pole height cap: poles and standards used for outdoor lighting cannot exceed 20 feet, though the Commission encourages 12 to 15 foot poles, and any lot providing more than 20 parking spaces must submit a photometric plan before approval. Subsection (f) requires lighting fixtures to be full cutoff with low glare and directed lighting. Subsection (i) adds a shielding rule: fixtures must be designed and mounted so that neither the light source nor the lens is visible from above a height of five feet at the property lot line, and any luminaire with a sag or drop lens must be shielded.

Subsection (h) discourages flood lighting except for loading areas, and where a building-mounted floodlight is used because a full cutoff luminaire is impractical, top and side shields must be attached and maintained to keep light emission below a 45 degree vertical cutoff angle. The only way past the 20 foot cap is subsection (k): the Board of Zoning Appeals can approve a greater height for sports area luminaires if they are designed, located and directed to prevent glare and light trespass, and subsection (m) lets the Zoning Inspector approve temporary construction floodlights above 20 feet on the same condition.

These standards were adopted by Ordinance 147-2018, passed July 2, 2018, and apply to every outdoor lighting installation citywide outside the narrow Section 1185.01 exemptions.