St. Tammany Parish, LA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

1(A) declares that good outdoor lighting benefits everyone by increasing safety and security, and the section backs that purpose with fixture design rules in subsection C. For commercial, multi-family and other non-single or two-family uses, any fixture averaging more than 3,000 lumens must be a full cutoff design and cannot mount higher than 35 feet, while dimmer fixtures under 3,000 lumens carry no height cap; the code deems specific lamp wattages, such as a 200-watt incandescent bulb or a 30-watt high-pressure sodium lamp, to cross the 3,000-lumen line.

A photometric plan and luminaire schedule must accompany any commercial lighting permit application, showing footcandle readings on a site grid; the standards table caps active entrances and vital building exteriors at 5 footcandles, inactive entrances and building surrounds at 1 footcandle, loading platforms and ATMs at 20 footcandles, and service station pump islands at 20 footcandles, all measured 3 feet above grade. Single-family and two-family lots follow a lighter standard in subsection C(3): fixtures emitting 1,500 lumens or less must aim no higher than 35 degrees above straight down when visible from an adjoining residential lot or public road, fixtures between 1,500 and 3,000 lumens are capped at 3,000K color temperature, and anything over 3,000 lumens must be fully shielded. 5 maintained footcandle at an adjoining residential property line, and such fields must go dark within one hour after an event ends.