Layton, UT Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

100, titled Prohibition Of Undesirable Emissions, opens by barring any use from emitting an excessive or dangerous degree of fumes, dust, smoke, heat, glare, or radiation beyond its lot line, and folds outdoor lighting into that nuisance framework. Any commercial, industrial, or institutional use adjacent to a residential area must submit lighting plans and specifications to the City for approval before installation. Fixtures within 35 feet of a residential boundary cannot exceed 20 feet in height, and fixtures beyond that distance are capped at either the zoning district's maximum structure height or 35 feet, whichever is lower.

Light standards must be spaced apart by at least four times their own height, and every fixture needs shielding so the light source itself is not visible above five feet at any residential property line, with additional shielding required so no fixture creates a hazard for drivers on an adjacent public street. Uplighting used to highlight architecture, landscaping, or signage, and spotlighting generally, must be aimed into the interior of the site or angled skyward so no beam crosses onto residential property or into a roadway where it could blind a driver.

A complete lighting pattern site plan showing every fixture, whether pole-mounted, ground-mounted, or building-mounted, must go to the Community and Economic Development Department for approval, though recreational facilities and community uses needing lighting can be exempted if the lighting itself is approved through the conditional use process.