Framingham, MA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Framingham's dark-sky style shielding rule lives in the same off-street parking design standards as its light-trespass cap, Chapter 435, § 435-24D(2). Subsection (h) requires that all luminaires be fully shielded to decrease light trespass onto adjacent properties, roadways, or environmentally sensitive areas, a design mandate that applies on top of the zero-lumen lot-line standard in (f)[3]. The chapter spells out how that shielding works fixture by fixture. Wall-mounted lights under § 435-24D(2)(c) are limited to a 15-foot mounting height and must be shielded to control glare.

Pole-mounted fixtures under (d) cannot rise above 18 feet, must sit back at least three feet from the curbline, and their exposed bases must be capped with no exposed bolts. Ceiling-mounted fixtures under a canopy, covered by (e), must have the refractor or lens flush with or recessed into the ceiling so the lamp itself never shows. Subsection (i) bans strobes, searchlights, flashing lights, and laser illumination outright, and (g) tells the applicant to design lighting that does not exceed what the use and location actually need.

A photometric plan under (a), showing the location, height, shield type, and lumen rating of every existing and proposed luminaire, has to go to the Planning Board before a new or redevelopment project gets site plan approval, giving the Board a paper trail to confirm the shielding is real rather than promised. The Planning Board can also add its own limits on the amount and timing of illumination under (f)[2] when a specific application calls for it.