Carver County, MN Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Reduced setback
- 3 feet from lot lines for yard lights
- Fixture standard
- full-cutoff or fully shielded luminaires
- Governing clause
- § 152.034(C)(2) setback exemptions
- No shielding
- loses the 3-foot exemption, standard setback applies
- Enforcing agency
- Land Management Department
Summary
Yard lights in unincorporated Carver County get a narrow setback exemption under § 152.034(C)(2): they can sit as close as three feet from a lot line only if the luminaire itself is full-cutoff or fully shielded, keeping the light source from spilling directly outward.
Yard lights and signs provided they are located three feet or more from all lot lines. Luminaries must be full-cutoff or fully shielded.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-20: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 111-2025, passed 7-25-25).
Full Breakdown
034(C)(2) folds outdoor lighting into the chapter's list of setback exemptions rather than regulating it as a stand-alone lighting ordinance. Yard lights and signs are excused from the county's normal setback distances only if they sit three feet or more from every lot line, and the same clause conditions that exemption on the fixture itself: luminaires must be full-cutoff or fully shielded, the fixture design that directs light downward and prevents the bulb or lamp from being visible from the side. The rule sits directly alongside the county's yard-light and security-light glare standard in the same subsection, which independently limits how much light can reach a neighboring residential property.
025, and a fixture that fails to meet the full-cutoff or fully-shielded standard forfeits the reduced three-foot setback and instead has to meet the chapter's regular setback distances for its zoning district. The Land Management Department administers this requirement as part of its general enforcement authority over Chapter 152 in the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
Installing an unshielded or non-full-cutoff yard light within the reduced three-foot setback, or otherwise failing to meet § 152.034(C)(2)'s lighting standard, is a misdemeanor under § 152.999 punishable as defined by law, with each day of the violation counted separately. The Land Management Department can require the fixture replaced or relocated to the standard setback and refer continued noncompliance to the County Attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close to my property line can I put a yard light in Carver County?
What does 'full-cutoff or fully shielded' mean for a yard light?
Is there a separate lighting permit for outdoor fixtures?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Carver County
Compare Carver County to another location·View the Minnesota outdoor lighting overview
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