Irondequoit, NY Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

The rule sits in § 235-176 of the Code of the Town of Irondequoit, the design guidelines for the Ridge Road Planned Development District, which the code describes as the Town's primary commercial corridor. It is not a townwide lighting ordinance. Outside the RRPD District, this section does not apply.

Subsection H(1) says exterior lighting, including fixtures located on sites and mounted on structures, shall be designed to provide safe pedestrian and vehicular navigation, enhance safety, and complement the design of the proposed development. The fixture standard itself is worded as an expectation: dark sky compliant fixtures should be used, unless the need for an alternative is demonstrated during application. An applicant who wants something else carries the burden of showing why. Subsection H(2) is firmer on the inside of buildings: interior lighting shall be designed, positioned and/or controlled so that it avoids light spill on adjacent public rights-of-way.

The same section handles signs. In the signage guidelines, the Town of Irondequoit states that lit signs are appropriate for the area but should be high-efficiency and dark sky compliant.

The lighting standard ties directly into the district's review track in § 235-175. The Community Development Department conducts an administrative review, without a full site plan hearing, for lighting upgrades and replacements of existing fixtures that are dark sky compliant, and for new fixtures that are dark sky compliant and produce zero lumens along parcel boundaries bordering adjacent properties. Lighting that falls outside those criteria pushes the project toward site plan review under Article XV before the Planning Board, and the Community Development Director can require site plan review for any project that does not clearly demonstrate eligibility for administrative review. Under § 235-175D the applicable review must be completed before a building permit or change of occupancy permit can be issued.