Charles County, MD Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 297-305 sets the baseline: nonresidential buildings and multifamily developments of more than four units must light their entrances and exits adequately for safety, and any lighting that spills onto another lot and substantially interferes with its use is a violation if it exceeds the § 297-306 standard. Section 297-306, amended 10-29-2024 by Bill No. 2024-13, is Charles County's core outdoor lighting rule: site lighting must be "of low intensity from a concealed source," use clear white light that doesn't distort colors, and must not spill over into adjoining properties, buffers, or roadways or interfere with the vision of oncoming motorists, though public streetlighting is exempt.

Fixture height depends on shielding. A luminaire with no cutoff, meaning the bulb is visible, tops out at 12 feet over residential parking and 20 feet over nonresidential parking. A luminaire with total cutoff, where the light source is completely shielded from an observer standing five feet above ground at the point the cutoff angle meets the ground, can reach 20 feet over residential parking and 30 feet over nonresidential parking. Outdoor recreational lighting for ball diamonds, playing fields, and tennis courts gets its own allowance: fixtures may reach 40 feet and exceed the standard 90-degree cutoff angle, but only if shielded by orientation or a landscaped buffer yard so spillover onto adjacent residential property stays under two footcandles at the buffer line.

Flickering or flashing lights are barred outright, and fixtures can't sit inside buffer yard areas except along pedestrian walkways. Anyone installing or substantially modifying exterior lighting, or seeking a zoning permit, must submit an exterior lighting plan to the Zoning Officer showing fixture design, placement, and shielding.