Hawthorne does not have a dedicated dark-sky ordinance. Outdoor lighting on residential development is regulated under Municipal Code Chapter 17.20, which requires that lighting fixtures not produce excessive glare or dark shadows and that lighting for multifamily projects be focused downward. A lighting plan is required before installation on covered projects.
As a built-out urban city in the Los Angeles basin, Hawthorne addresses outdoor lighting through general development standards rather than an astronomy-focused dark-sky code. Chapter 17.20 (Development Standards for All Residential Zones) provides that 'lighting fixtures shall not produce excessive glare or dark shadows' and that 'lighting for multifamily projects shall be focused downward.' Before installation of lighting on a covered project, 'applicant shall provide a lighting plan that demonstrates and incorporates' the required standards, giving the Planning Division review authority over fixture type, aiming, and intensity. The downward-focusing requirement functions like a shielding standard, reducing uplight and light pollution even though Hawthorne does not adopt formal Illuminating Engineering Society or International Dark-Sky Association lumen caps. There is no city-wide curfew shutting off all outdoor lighting at a set hour. Residential nuisance lighting is addressed through the city's nuisance and code-enforcement provisions rather than a numeric dark-sky standard, so neighbors troubled by stray light typically rely on the glare and light-trespass aspects of Chapter 17.20 and the city's nuisance rules.
Installing lighting that produces excessive glare or dark shadows, failing to focus multifamily lighting downward, or installing project lighting without an approved lighting plan violates Chapter 17.20 and is enforced by the Planning Division and Code Enforcement through correction orders.
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