Gulfport, MS Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Unshielded cap (T3)
- 60W incandescent / 15W non-incandescent
- Unshielded cap (T4-T6)
- 40W incandescent / 10W non-incandescent
- Streetlights
- Fully or Nearly Fully Shielded required
- Applies in
- Elected SmartCode Planning Areas only
- Fixture reference
- Table 5 fixture types
Summary
In its T3 SmartCode zones, Gulfport caps unshielded outdoor luminaires at 60 watts incandescent or 15 watts non-incandescent and requires streetlights to be Fully or Nearly Fully Shielded. Higher-density T4 through T6 zones carry the same shielding rule with tighter, 40 and 10 watt caps.
Permanent Outdoor Luminaires other than those which are located under cover of an opaque Canopy or which are Fully Shielded shall be so equipped as not to exceed a total lamp power of 60 Watts per Luminaire for Incandescent Lamps, or of 15 Watts per Luminaire for non-Incandescent Lamps. ... Streetlights shall be Fully Shielded or Nearly Fully Shielded and of a general type illustrated in Table 5.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 68).
Full Breakdown
9, Ambient Standards for the Sub-Urban Transect Zone (T3), regulates outdoor light within elected SmartCode Planning Areas. Subsection (b) caps any permanent outdoor luminaire that is not under an opaque canopy or already Fully Shielded at 60 watts total lamp power for incandescent lamps or 15 watts for non-incandescent lamps. Subsection (d) requires streetlights to be Fully Shielded or Nearly Fully Shielded, using a fixture type illustrated in the Code's Table 5. Article 7's definitions give the shielding terms teeth: a Fully Shielded Luminaire directs no light above a horizontal plane through the fixture's topmost point, so all light goes downward or outward, never upward, and a Nearly Fully Shielded Luminaire meets that standard unshielded but loses some of it once its diffuser or lens is installed.
9) zones tighten the unshielded-fixture cap further to 40 watts incandescent or 10 watts non-incandescent, while keeping the same Fully or Nearly Fully Shielded streetlight requirement. Because these standards sit in the optional SmartCode rather than conventional Appendix A zoning, they bind only land within a Community Planning Area that has formally elected the SmartCode option.
Violations & Fines
The SmartCode does not print a stand-alone lighting fine; noncompliant fixtures are addressed through the Consolidated Review Committee's plan review and Planning Commission approval process for the Community Plan, and a property built or altered without complying with an approved plan is subject to the City's general building-permit and stop-work enforcement under Section 1-9 of the Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
What outdoor light fixtures does Gulfport's SmartCode allow unshielded?
What counts as a Fully Shielded Luminaire in Gulfport?
Do Gulfport streetlights have to be shielded?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gulfport
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