Killeen, TX Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 31-898 governs outdoor lighting for property zoned B-1 through B-5, NBD, RC-1, B-DC, UD, CD, M-1, M-2, R-3, R-3F, R-3A and every other active commercial, manufacturing or multifamily district. Subsection (d) declares that uplighting has a negative impact on the enjoyment of the night sky and makes it unlawful, unless the fixture falls into one of two carved-out uses: lighting a flagpole so the beam targets only the flag, or ornamentally lighting public art, sculptures, architectural features or landscape features. Even those two exceptions carry the same backstop that runs through the whole division: the light still cannot trespass onto a neighbor's property or create a hazard for drivers.

The purpose section, 31-896, frames the entire division around two goals, enhancing nighttime enjoyment of property and protecting the ability to see the night sky, and the uplighting ban is the clearest tool the city uses to get there. The identical uplighting ban and the identical flagpole and ornamental-art exceptions apply to single-family and two-family districts under section 31-899(d), so a homeowner uplighting a tree or a flagpole faces the same rule as a shopping center. Section 31-897(b) carves out property more than five miles from an active-training military base boundary, pre-existing lighting installed before the May 14, 2024 effective date of Ordinance No.

24-016, and temporary holiday, civic-event or construction lighting. Anyone installing new exterior lighting that requires a permit must first get site plan approval from the building official under section 31-898(f), and that review checks compliance with the uplighting ban along with the height and shielding standards.