Lane County, OR Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Goshen GI/LI zones only, not countywide
- Design standard
- Full cut-off fixture or shielding required
- Citation
- LC 16.280(14)(c)(i)
- Prohibited
- Laser and searchlight advertising lighting
- Grandfathered
- Fixtures installed before ordinance, unless replaced
- Enforcement
- LC Chapter 5 civil penalty accrues daily
- Appeal window
- 10 business days to Hearings Official
Summary
Lane Code requires every new outdoor light fixture in the Goshen Industrial and Light Industrial zones to be a full cut-off design or otherwise shielded so illumination points down onto the site, not into the sky or onto a neighbor's land. Adopted under LC 16.280(14), the standard also bans laser and searchlight advertising and applies only inside unincorporated Goshen's employment lands, not countywide.
All outdoor lighting fixtures subject to this subsection must be designed as a full cut-off fixture or have a shielding method to direct light emissions down onto the site and not shine direct illumination or glare onto abutting properties.
Full Breakdown
280, exists to let businesses and public agencies in the unincorporated community of Goshen light their sites while preserving night-sky vistas and keeping illumination confined to the property where it originates. 280(5) limits that reach to property zoned General Industrial (GI) or Light Industrial (LI) inside Goshen, shown on the county's official zoning map; it does not touch residential land elsewhere in unincorporated Lane County. 280(14)(c)(i), every outdoor fixture installed after the ordinance's effective date must be a full cut-off fixture or carry a shielding method that directs light down and keeps direct illumination or glare off abutting properties.
Roadway, intersection and pedestrian-way lighting must likewise be shielded to point below the horizontal plane, laser and searchlight advertising is flatly prohibited, and externally affixed neon trim is capped at 15 feet above grade with no flashing or rotating effect. Businesses are encouraged, not required, to turn off parking-lot and building lighting at the close of the working day except lighting needed for personal and building safety. Fixtures lawfully installed and operating before the ordinance took effect are grandfathered unless replaced. "
Violations & Fines
Lane County Land Management enforces the standard through Lane Code Chapter 5's administrative enforcement program, not through Chapter 16 itself. An enforcement officer issues a Notice of Failure to Comply, and a civil penalty accrues daily under LC 5.025.030 from the date of that notice until the fixture is brought into compliance. The property owner has 10 business days to file a written appeal to the Hearings Official under LC 5.025.035 before the county can pursue collection or a lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this outdoor lighting rule apply to my rural home outside Goshen?
What makes a fixture "full cut-off" under the code?
Can a Goshen business leave its parking lot lights on all night?
What happens if a fixture in the Goshen zone is out of compliance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lane County
Compare Lane County to another location·View the Oregon outdoor lighting overview
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