Collierville, TN Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Collierville regulates the sky-facing and glare side of outdoor lighting through fixture shielding in § 151.190 of the Collierville Code of Ordinances, rather than through a separately labeled dark-sky program. The purpose clause says exterior lighting must use minimal mounting heights that minimize objectionable off-site glare. The section applies to multi-family residential, commercial, and mixed-use development, and it exempts individual residential lighting that is not reviewed as part of a site plan, decorative light fixtures using lamps 60 watts or less, emergency lighting, and temporary holiday decoration lighting.

The shielding standards are specific by fixture type. Under § 151.190(F)(3)(b), pole-mounted light fixtures shall be full cutoff, and light poles may be no taller than 30 feet, with the Design Review Commission able to approve 35-foot poles case by case. Under (F)(4)(b), building-mounted fixtures other than decorative only fixtures shall be cutoff or full cutoff. Under (F)(5), floodlights must have the lamp source shielded by barn doors, glare shields, fixed hood or grid louvers, and no portion of the bulb may extend beyond the edge of the external shield. Spotlight and floodlight illumination must be focused exclusively on the building façade, plantings, and other intended site features and away from adjoining properties and public rights-of-way. Decorative wall fixtures using lamps of 60 watts or more must have the lamp shielded, such as with metal louvers.

Lamp color is capped too: metal halide, incandescent, LED, and compact fluorescent lamps are allowed as long as the light color temperature does not exceed 5,000K, and the same source and color temperature must be used for similar lighting across a site. Division (H) prohibits blinking, flashing, or changing-intensity lighting, ornamental fixtures that rely only on prismatic glass or acrylic globes for shielding, exposed neon, and fixtures that create off-site glare. Sports fields and performance areas need a glare control package and cannot be illuminated after 11:00 p.m. except to conclude activity begun before then. When a lighting plan is required, the builder must supply a final certification letter before certificates of occupancy are released.