Huntington Park, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

The lighting standard sits in § 9-3.103, the General standards section of Chapter 3 in Title 9 (Zoning) of the Huntington Park Municipal Code, adopted by the City Council of the City of Huntington Park in Los Angeles County. Item 13 of that section carries the rule. Exterior lighting must be energy-efficient and shielded or recessed so that direct glare and reflections are confined, to the maximum extent feasible, within the boundaries of the parcel. Fixtures must be directed downward and away from adjoining properties and public rights-of-way. The code does not print a lumen cap or a color-temperature limit for this item, so the test is the shielding and aiming language plus the ban on blinking, flashing or unusually high intensity or brightness.

Scale matters too. Every fixture must be appropriate in scale, intensity, height and architectural design to the use it serves, which lets the Director of the Community Development function judge a tall pole light on a small lot against the building it serves. The same item requires security lighting at all entrances and exits, so the shielding rule has to be met without leaving doors dark.

Who must comply is set by § 9-3.102: any new structure or use, or any modification or change to an existing structure or use, must comply with the applicable standards of the chapter unless a specific exemption is printed. Section 9-3.103 repeats that new or modified structures and uses (including changes in use) must conform before construction, before a change in use, or during normal operations. Existing uses must comply with the operational standards, such as dust and dirt, fumes and glare, as the Director determines applicable. These general standards are applied together with the standards in the specific zoning district chapters.

Other parts of the same zoning code add use-specific lighting language. Parking areas must have lighting capable of providing adequate illumination for security and safety, with a minimum of one footcandle maintained across the surface of the parking area. Item 10 of § 9-3.103 separately requires any use that emits glare or heat that is a nuisance or hazard on adjacent property to shield or control the source.

Enforcement runs through the general penalty chapter. Under § 1-2.01, a violation of the Code is a misdemeanor unless the Code describes it as an infraction, with a fine of not more than $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A condition in violation is a public nuisance that the City can summarily abate, and each day it continues is a new and separate offense.