Josephine County, OR Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

JCC § 19.77.010, adopted by Ordinance 2017-001, is the Rural Land Development Code's dark-sky standard: "All exterior lighting, including light emitted from security systems, shall be shielded or use a hood and lens that cast light downward so as to ensure no light is cast onto adjacent properties nor upward into the night sky. If the lighting mechanism does not utilize a hood or lens, lighting fixtures shall be fully shielded in such a manner that all light emitted directly by the lamp or diffusing element, or indirectly by reflection or refraction, is projected below the horizontal plane through the lowest light-emitting part." The rule reaches every exterior fixture in the unincorporated county, residential, commercial or industrial, and specifically calls out security lighting, a common source of glare and light trespass complaints.

It works alongside, but separately from, the sign-specific illumination limits in JCC § 19.74.020 and the parking-area lighting standard in § 19.75.060(E), which uses nearly identical shielding language for lot lighting. A companion indoor lighting section, § 19.77.020, was repealed by Ordinance 2025-003, leaving § 19.77.010 as the chapter's sole surviving standard. Because the rule sits in Title 19, the Rural Land Development Code, a violation is processed through the same enforcement chapter as any other zoning standard: the Planning Director sends written notice under JCC § 19.19.020, allows up to 30 days to fix the fixture under § 19.19.030, and can refer continued noncompliance to the District Attorney or Board of County Commissioners, with a fine on conviction of up to $500, or $1,000 if the violation continues, under § 19.19.010.