Yes. Unincorporated Richland County has genuine dark-sky lighting standards. All new development must use full-cutoff certified luminaires aimed downward to minimize light pollution, glare, and trespass. High-pressure sodium and mercury-vapor lamps are banned, and search/laser lights are prohibited except in emergencies.
Sec. 26-177 of the Land Development Code states its intent is to minimize light pollution, glare, and light trespass and to curtail degradation of the night-time visual environment. It applies to all new development in unincorporated Richland County. All luminaires must be full-cutoff certified (except shielded athletic-field lights), have internal or external visors, and be oriented downward, with limited upward accent lighting for landscaping, flags, and places of worship. Approved lamps include LED, metal halide, fluorescent and incandescent; high-pressure sodium, low-pressure sodium, and mercury-vapor lamps are prohibited. Cities apply their own lighting rules.
Non-conforming lighting on new or expanded development is a zoning violation reviewed through the development-permit process and enforced by the Planning Department.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Richland County has no ordinance banning residential backyard composting. Reasonable home compost piles are allowed, but a pile that becomes a nuisance, harb...
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Richland County has no ordinance specifically permitting or prohibiting artificial turf on residential lots. Single-family yards are exempt from the county's...
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Richland County does not require homeowners to plant native species, but its Land Development Code favors them: on development sites, trees and plants in par...
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Rainwater harvesting is legal in South Carolina and Richland County has no ordinance banning or permitting residential rain barrels or cisterns. The county a...
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Richland County itself imposes no permanent lawn-watering ordinance. Outdoor water use is governed by your water utility and by South Carolina's Drought Resp...
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Richland County Code Sec. 18-4 treats overgrown grass, weeds, dead brush and noxious plants in developed areas as "unsafe and noxious vegetation." The sherif...
See how Richland County's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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