Fayetteville, NC Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 30-5.E.1 states the purpose of the exterior lighting article is to control light trespass and glare, protect motorists and pedestrians, and avoid harming uses that depend on dark skies. Section 30-5.E.2 applies the standards to all development citywide unless exempted, and Section 30-5.E.3 exempts existing athletic-field lighting (which must still meet Section 30-5.E.8), city-owned street lights, and fixtures already approved through a Certificate of Appropriateness. Section 30-5.E.4's Hours of Illumination rule requires public, institutional, commercial, and industrial uses next to residential development or vacant residential land to shut off exterior lighting, except security or emergency lighting, by 10:00 p.m. or within an hour of closing, whichever comes first, with that exception limited to the minimum light needed at entries, walkways, or storage areas and allowed to run on a motion sensor; its Illumination Direction rule requires all lighting to point down, barring upward illumination of structures except for flag lighting or approved low-wattage architectural lighting.

Section 30-5.E.5's design standards cap fixture height at 20 feet in residential, OI, NC, MU, and DT districts and 30 feet elsewhere; require full cut-off lenses or hoods on any fixture over 40 watts or 600 lumens; bar canopy lights from extending below the canopy ceiling and internally lit awnings unless the material is fully opaque; cap illumination at a property line at 0.5 foot-candle for residential/institutional uses and 2.5 for commercial, industrial, and parking lots (with a 0.2 foot-candle floor in lots); and require fixtures to sit back 15 feet from a canopy tree and 5 feet from an understory tree.

Section 30-5.E.6 confines wall packs to entrance safety lighting, fully shielded and preferably 100 watts or less, and bans any wall-pack light source visible off-site outright. Section 30-5.E.7 lets sensitive or government sites deviate through a City Manager-approved Security Plan, and Section 30-5.E.8 requires athletic-field lighting to carry a glare-control package and shut off within 30 minutes after a game or event ends.