Kirkland, WA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

040(1)(d), "Dark Sky Fixtures," applies to all developments within the regulating districts of the NE 85th St. Station Area Plan, the transit-oriented zone built around the Chapter 57 form-based code adopted by Resolution No. R-5547. Every exterior luminaire inside the development boundary must meet uplight and light trespass limits so the site supports a "nighttime habitat friendly environment," the code's own phrase. Two numeric standards do the work. 1-2007, unamended, which governs automatic shutoff and control wiring for exterior lighting. 1 lux) once you move 15 feet beyond that boundary line.

Developers must also document that no more than five percent of the total initial designed fixture lumens, summed across every fixture on site, is emitted at 90 degrees or higher from nadir, meaning aimed sideways or upward rather than straight down. That lumen-share test is what forces full-cutoff, downward-shielded fixtures rather than decorative globes or unshielded floodlights. 040(1)(b)), all folded into the same districtwide environmental-features section adopted by Ordinance 4802 in 2022 and amended by Ordinance 4855 in 2023. Compliance is checked by the Planning and Building Department during design review for projects inside the station area boundary; it does not apply to detached single-family lots outside that mapped area.