Imperial County, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Imperial County's Land Use Code does not contain a stand-alone dark-sky or comprehensive outdoor-lighting ordinance for unincorporated areas. The lighting controls that do exist appear within Title 9, Division 4 as supporting standards for other uses. For parking, Section 90402.13.L states that 'lights used to illuminate parking areas shall be directed away from any adjacent properties and streets.' For signs, multiple provisions require that illumination be arranged so as not to produce glare on adjacent properties or public streets - for example, monument-sign lighting (Section 90401.01.E), pole-sign lighting (Section 90401.02.E), building-attached sign lighting (Section 90401.03.B), and institutional sign lighting (Section 90401.12.F), which must be indirect, non-flashing, and must not produce light or glare onto adjoining properties or roadways. There is no countywide rule limiting residential fixture lumens, color temperature, shielding, or curfew hours of the kind found in formal dark-sky ordinances. Discretionary projects (those requiring a conditional use permit or CEQA review) may have project-specific lighting conditions imposed, but routine residential outdoor lighting in the unincorporated county is not governed by a dedicated lighting code. Property owners bothered by a neighbor's lighting generally must rely on the glare provisions tied to signs and parking, on conditions of approval for permitted projects, or on California's general private-nuisance law (Civil Code 3479).