Worcester County MA municipalities regulate outdoor lighting through local zoning bylaws. There is no statewide Massachusetts dark-sky law, though Senate Bill S.2244 has been proposed repeatedly. Many Worcester County towns (Harvard, Bolton, Princeton, Sterling) have adopted IDA-compliant lighting bylaws requiring full-cutoff fixtures, 3000K or lower color temperature, and shielding. Worcester and Leominster have commercial lighting standards in site plan review.
Massachusetts has no statewide outdoor lighting or dark-sky law — regulation is entirely local under MGL c. 40A (Zoning Act) home-rule authority. Worcester County has significant rural areas where dark-sky protection is valued, and multiple towns have adopted model bylaws based on International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) recommendations. Representative examples: Harvard's Zoning Bylaw §125-39 requires full-cutoff fixtures for all outdoor lighting with maximum 3000K color temperature. Bolton's Lighting Bylaw (Chapter XII) limits lumens per acre, mandates shielding, and prohibits uplighting except for flags. Princeton and Sterling have similar rural-focused bylaws. In more urban areas, the City of Worcester's Zoning Ordinance §4.1 requires outdoor lighting for commercial developments to be arranged to prevent glare onto adjacent residential properties, with photometric plans required in site plan review. The Mount Wachusett region has advocacy for dark-sky preservation. LED conversion under MassDOT and utility programs is required to use 3000K or lower CCT for public way lighting. Industrial and commercial parking lot lighting must typically not exceed 0.5 footcandles at residential property lines.
Non-compliant fixtures: notice of violation from building commissioner; typical 30-60 day correction period. Fines $50-$300 per violation per day under most Worcester County bylaws. Commercial site plan violations: certificate of occupancy withheld until compliance. Unshielded glare onto public way: MassDOT complaint possible.
Worcester County, MA
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Worcester County, MA
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Worcester County, MA
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Worcester County, MA
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Worcester County, MA
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Worcester County, MA
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See how Worcester County's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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