Marion County, OR Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Salem is not a formal Dark Sky community, but Salem Revised Code 800.060 sets a real exterior-lighting standard within its Urban Development Code. Lighting must not shine or reflect onto adjacent properties or cast glare onto the public right-of-way. Exterior fixtures must be located and designed so that the light source, viewed at five feet above the ground and five feet outside the lot boundary, is either completely shielded from direct view or produces no more than five foot-candles of illumination. This is a development standard that primarily governs new construction and larger projects rather than every existing single-family porch light. Unincorporated Marion County's rural zoning has no countywide dark-sky mandate, and other cities set their own rules.