Hall County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- GCOD nonresidential development only
- Streetlight spacing
- 300 ft. on-center
- Fixture type required
- Semi-cutoff
- Approval authority
- Hall County Public Works Dept.
- Overlay trigger date
- Permits after March 22, 2007
Summary
Hall County has no countywide dark-sky ordinance, but nonresidential development along its designated Gateway Corridor Overlay District, covering stretches of routes like S.R. 129, S.R. 53 and Thompson Bridge Road, must use semi-cutoff outdoor and security lighting under UDC § 6.2.5.D, with streetlights staggered 300 feet on-center and approved by Public Works.
D.Outdoor lighting. 1.Streetlights. a.Streetlights must be provided on all public streets. b.The spacing of streetlights must be staggered, 300 feet on-center, along both sides of the roadway. c.All street lighting is subject to review and approval of the Hall County Public Works Department. d.All outdoor lighting must be the semi-cutoff type. 2.Semi-cutoff luminaries must be used for all security lighting.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
D of the Hall County UDC governs outdoor lighting within the Gateway Corridor Overlay District (GCOD), a supplemental zoning overlay that applies to nonresidential development along specific designated highway segments listed in Sec. R. R. R. R. R. 211/Old Winder Highway and the 985/365 corridor. Within that overlay, streetlights must be provided on all public streets and staggered 300 feet on-center along both sides of the roadway, subject to review and approval by the Hall County Public Works Department, and all outdoor lighting, including security lighting, must be of the semi-cutoff type, meaning the fixture shields the light source to limit glare and upward spill.
The GCOD's lighting standard sits alongside its landscaping and screening rules in the same subsection, such as required foundation shrubs, street-frontage landscape strips and buffers around loading areas, all aimed at controlling the visual and light impact of commercial development along the county's gateway routes. D's lighting requirement entirely.
Violations & Fines
Installing unshielded fixtures or floodlights that are not semi-cutoff type on nonresidential property inside the Gateway Corridor Overlay District violates § 6.2.5.D and can hold up site-plan or building-permit approval under the UDC's general permit-withholding authority in § 1.2.1 until the lighting plan is corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hall County require dark-sky lighting countywide?
What counts as semi-cutoff lighting under Hall County's rule?
Which roads fall inside the Gateway Corridor Overlay District?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hall County
Compare Hall County to another location·View the Georgia outdoor lighting overview
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