Kootenai County, ID Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

607 lists outdoor lighting associated with a permitted recreational use as one of the activities in the Rural zone that needs its own special notice permit, separate from the permit for the recreational use itself. That means a campground, sports field, archery range, or similar facility that already operates by right or under a conditional use permit still has to come back to the planning department before it installs stadium lights, security lighting, or any other fixture bright enough to be noticed off site. 201, Outdoor Lighting For Permitted Recreational Uses: the lighting can be built and used once the special notice permit is issued, and it must be downward directed and screened so it produces no glare on public rights of way or adjacent properties.

There is no numeric foot-candle ceiling written into this particular section, unlike the county's special-event or industrial-zone lighting standards; the operative test is glare, whether a passing driver or the next-door landowner can see the source of the light or is bothered by its spill. A fixture aimed outward, uncovered, or angled up toward the sky fails that test regardless of its wattage. Because the permit sits under the special notice track rather than a full conditional use hearing, neighboring property owners still get notice of the application, but the review is narrower and faster than a conditional use permit.

The planning director can deny or condition the permit if the proposed fixtures would still create glare after shielding, and an operator who installs lighting without first getting the special notice permit is out of compliance with the zone's use table even if the underlying recreational use is otherwise lawful. (Ord. 493, 6-9-2016; amd. Ord. 611, 5-8-2025)