Georgetown, TX Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

The City of Georgetown's outdoor lighting requirements are set out in the Unified Development Code, Section 7.04.010 (Lighting), within Chapter 7, Non-Residential Development Standards. Under these standards, all lighting fixtures designed or placed to illuminate any portion of a site must be shown on a detailed lighting plan and meet shielding requirements: 'The light source shall be completely concealed, fully shielded within opaque housing and shall not be visible from any street right-of-way.' This full-cutoff approach reduces glare and uplight, supporting dark-sky goals. There is a narrow exception for residential-style fixtures on non-residential uses: such uses 'may use unshielded light sources provided that a single light source fixture does not exceed 75 watts and a multiple light source fixture shall not exceed an accumulated total of 125 watts.' The code also references illumination-level limits in its subsections. Because these standards live in the non-residential chapter, ordinary single-family homes are generally not subject to the full shielding plan requirement, though they remain subject to nuisance and light-trespass principles. Developers and commercial property owners should submit a lighting plan with their site plan to demonstrate compliance with the shielding and wattage limits.