Chelsea, MA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 34-109(h), Illumination, lists five standards that every lit sign in Chelsea must meet. First, signs in the R1, R2 and R3 residential districts may not be illuminated at all unless the sign belongs to a place or business open to the public, and even then the light must be indirect and cannot shine directly onto a street or an adjacent property. Second, any permitted lighting has to be continuous, not flashing. Third, exposed neon or gas-illuminated signs must be high-quality and otherwise conform to the ordinance.

Fourth, internally illuminated sign boxes with translucent plastic faces are banned outright. Fifth, and the source of the city's dark-sky commitment, lighting must conform to the recommendations of the International Dark Sky Association. This IDA reference is Chelsea's only explicit dark-sky standard in the code, and it lives inside the sign ordinance rather than a freestanding outdoor-lighting chapter; a separate, broader rule against exterior lighting spilling onto neighboring property sits in the zoning performance standards at § 34-110(h). Compliance is reviewed by the building inspector and zoning enforcement officer under § 34-109(a)(1) when a sign permit is required, and Chapter 34's general penalty at § 34-211 backs the standard with a $300 fine per offense, assessed for each day a noncompliant fixture stays lit.