Fayetteville uses 'dark sky' exterior-lighting standards in its Unified Development Ordinance to support the Fort Bragg (Fort Liberty) and Pope Army Airfield military mission by minimizing upward-directed site and security lighting. Standards are in UDO Section 30-5.E.
Because of the region's military airspace, the City of Fayetteville adopted 'dark sky' exterior-lighting requirements in Section 30-5.E of its Unified Development Ordinance. The stated purpose is to support the military mission of Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) and Pope Army Airfield by minimizing upward-directed site and security lighting, while still providing adequate security. New residential, nonresidential, mixed-use, and accessory building construction triggers the lighting standards, which typically call for full-cutoff/shielded fixtures and limits on light directed above the horizontal. The unincorporated county relies on North Carolina statutes and its own zoning ordinance rather than a matching dark-sky rule, so verify which jurisdiction covers your parcel with the appropriate planning office.
Non-compliant lighting can block site-plan or certificate-of-occupancy approval; the city may require corrective shielding or refixturing before a project is finalized.
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See how Cumberland County's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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