Under the Land Use & Development Code (Section 35.30.120), all exterior lighting in the unincorporated County must be hooded, with no unobstructed beam directed toward residential areas, and must not interfere with street traffic. The County also pursued a 2025 outdoor-lighting (dark-sky) ordinance update.
The unincorporated County's baseline outdoor-lighting rule is in the Land Use & Development Code (LUDC) Section 35.30.120 (Outdoor Lighting), which states that all exterior lighting shall be hooded and that no unobstructed beam of exterior light shall be directed toward any area zoned or developed residential, and that lighting shall be designed so as not to interfere with vehicular traffic on any portion of a street. These standards are part of the County's site-planning and design-compatibility framework (Article 35.3) intended to protect neighboring properties. Separately, Santa Barbara County and the community 'Save Our Stars' effort advanced a 2025 outdoor-lighting (dark-sky) ordinance within Chapter 35 to strengthen shielding and reduce light pollution in the unincorporated area; community sources describe goals such as fully shielded fixtures and reduced glare, but specific numeric standards should be confirmed against the adopted ordinance text rather than relied on from summaries. Because the County is updating these rules, the controlling, verifiable standard cited here is LUDC 35.30.120, while the 2025 update may add stricter requirements. Coastal Zone projects also follow the certified Local Coastal Program lighting provisions. Confirm the current adopted standards with Santa Barbara County Planning & Development before installing exterior lighting.
Exterior lighting that is unhooded or casts an unobstructed beam toward residential areas, or that interferes with street traffic, violates LUDC 35.30.120 and can trigger code-enforcement correction. Newer 2025 dark-sky requirements, where adopted, add shielding obligations.
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