La Habra, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

La Habra adopted its dark-sky lighting mandate as part of Chapter 18.09, Objective Design Standards for Multi-Unit Residential and Mixed-Use Development, added by Ordinance No. 1854 on December 18, 2023. Section 18.09.040(J) sits inside the chapter's General Standards and covers every exterior fixture on a covered project: item 1 ties fixture style to the building's architecture, item 2 requires entrance and street-number illumination visible from the street, item 3 caps building-mounted security lighting at the first floor or single-story fascia and mandates hooded, downward-facing housings that cannot shine or glare onto adjacent parcels, and item 4 is the dark-sky clause itself, requiring every exterior fixture to be designed, located and lamped to prevent over-lighting, energy waste, glare and light trespass.

Under Section 18.09.030, the chapter binds new multi-unit residential and mixed-use development citywide, plus additions to existing multi-unit and mixed-use projects, unless the site sits in a specific plan, overlay zone, or planned unit development that already carries its own design standards, in which case that instrument controls instead. Eligible projects processed under Chapter 18.84's Multi-Unit Residential and Mixed-Use Development Ministerial Review Process are also subject to Section 18.09.040(J). The Community Development Department checks lighting plans for compliance during discretionary design review or ministerial review, and a denial or condition tied to this standard can be appealed to the planning commission or city council under the timelines set in Section 18.08.130.