Cherokee County, SC Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Cherokee County's shielding rule for outdoor lighting appears in its commercial energy standards. Section 13-128(d)(15) requires that all lighting at a solar energy system or wind farm in unincorporated Cherokee County, South Carolina be shielded or directed in a downward position to prevent noxious glare, and it requires a light fixture at the ends of all turnarounds. The rule sits alongside § 13-128(d)(7), which bars appurtenances such as lighting, flags, signs and decorations from being attached to the system itself and notes that lighting would be required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Glare is treated as a design issue elsewhere in the same section. Solar connectors must be designed with an anti-reflective coating, textured glass is optional, and mirrors are prohibited (§ 13-128(d)(19)). Wind equipment must be white or earth toned and remain painted and finished to minimize glare and flicker (§ 13-128(d)(10)).

Other lighting duties in the Code point the other direction. Communication towers under § 13-127(8) must be lighted in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration Circular 70-7460. A tower within the first twelve thousand (12,000) feet of the approach surface of an existing or proposed runway is illuminated by strobe lights during daylight and twilight hours and red lights during evening hours. A sexually oriented business must light its off-street parking areas and premise entries from dusk to closing with an average maintained horizontal illumination of one (1) foot of candle light (§ 13-235(d)).

This page covers what the county prints: the shielding sentence appears among the design standards for solar energy systems and wind farms, which start at twenty (20) acres. Those projects apply to the planning department and go to a Citizens Planning Commission public hearing with newspaper notice at least fifteen (15) days ahead. Appeals of Article V decisions go to the Cherokee County Board of Appeals, filed within thirty (30) days of notice under § 13-163.