Macon-Bibb County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

09[1](b) of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution, the county's zoning code, sets the county's dark-sky-style shielding standard. Except where specifically allowed otherwise elsewhere in the section, all acceptable outdoor luminaires must employ an Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) 'semi-cutoff,' 'cutoff,' or 'full cutoff' light distribution designation, and must be either partially shielded or fully shielded fixtures to reduce glare or spillage. 09[1](a), which requires all lighting to be designed and installed to prevent direct glare and light spillage onto adjacent properties and to avoid reflecting into any public right-of-way.

09[1](c) requires any deviation to be noted at the time of development plan review along with a written statement explaining the purpose of and reason for the deviation, and the Executive Director decides whether the deviation reasonably accomplishes the section's purposes. 09[3](c), recognizing that field lighting often cannot meet a cutoff designation or be shielded, while still holding those fixtures to the section's other standards, including height limits near property lines and glare control aimed away from adjacent parcels. 09[2].