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

Section 53-1004 defines a 'full cut-off fixture' as one designed or shielded so that all light rays, direct or reflected, are projected below a horizontal plane running through the fixture's lowest light-emitting point, and pairs that with a 'shielded lights' definition requiring the bulb itself to stay invisible. Section 53-1010(b) turns that standard into hard bans: mercury vapor fixtures or lamps are prohibited outright, wall-pack fixtures are prohibited unless manufacturer-rated full cut-off, barn-light style fixtures are prohibited unless fitted with a full opaque reflector instead of a translucent lens, and searchlights used for advertising are prohibited altogether.

These rules reach new nonresidential and multifamily development requiring site plan approval under § 53-1002, while lighting installed before the division's 2016 effective date is treated as nonconforming under § 53-1006 and may remain until the property redevelops by 50 percent or more of size or value, its structure is destroyed by 50 percent or more, or the nonconforming use is abandoned for a continuous six months, at which point full compliance is required. Compliance is checked during the final electrical inspection under § 53-1007(b), and every qualifying building permit application must include a lighting fixture table and manufacturer cut sheets showing each fixture's cut-off rating.