Hemet, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 90-429 sits within article XIV, the objective design and development standards that apply to multifamily residential and mixed-use projects, and it layers on top of other lighting requirements already found elsewhere in the code. Before approval, an applicant must submit a lighting plan with photometric information proving compliance with five specific rules: no lighting fixture may be mounted above the building facade or above the roofline; nighttime walkway path lighting must use fully shielded path lights; architectural and landscape lighting cannot use up-lighting, a restriction the code states exists specifically 'to achieve dark-sky objectives'; no fixture may be directed at, or create glare visible to, any residential unit, whether in the same building or another one on site; and exterior lighting output is capped by fixture type at 525 lumens for landscape lighting, 1,025 lumens for shielded light fixtures, 2,400 lumens for shielded fixtures above the first story, and 3,000 lumens for unshielded fixtures.

The dark-sky and shielding approach is not unique to multifamily projects; a parallel standard in the manufacturing zones' site development requirements, § 90-1046(e), separately requires that 'all lighting shall be directed or shielded away from nearby residential zones and contained within the boundaries of the site,' showing the city applies shielding-based lighting controls across more than one part of the zoning code even though the specific lumens caps in § 90-429 apply only to the multifamily and mixed-use article. A lighting plan that fails to demonstrate compliance with these standards would not clear the site development or design review process required for these project types.