Kenosha County, WI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Shielding standard
- Fully shielded fixtures required, §12.15.010(a)
- Districts covered
- Business, manufacturing, institutional, park-recreational
- Canopy lighting
- Must be recessed flush with canopy underside
- Exemptions
- Security, athletic-facility, and flag lighting
- Nonconforming fixtures
- Grandfathered until replaced
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Planning and Development
- Penalty
- $10-$500 forfeiture per violation per day
Summary
In Kenosha County's unincorporated towns, zoning code Section 12.15.010(a) requires every exterior light fixture in business, manufacturing, institutional and park-recreational districts to be fully shielded so the lamp element is never visible from an abutting right-of-way or neighboring lot. Wall packs, canopy lights and ground-mounted fixtures must be aimed downward, with only security, athletic-field and flag lighting exempted.
(a) Orientation of Fixtures. Except for security lighting, outdoor recreational facility lighting or flag lighting, in no instance shall an exterior lighting fixture be oriented so that the lighting element (or a transparent shield) is visible from any abutting right-of-way or adjacent property. The use of fully shielded fixtures (as defined in the Wisconsin Model Exterior Lighting Ordinance) is required and careful fixture placement and maintenance is encouraged so as to facilitate compliance with this requirement.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 37 (2026), passed March 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 opens by limiting its own reach: it applies to "all private exterior lighting within the business, manufacturing, institutional and park-recreational districts," not to residential lots, and because Wisconsin county zoning only governs towns that have adopted it, none of this touches the City of Kenosha, the City of Lake Geneva, or the county's villages (Pleasant Prairie, Somers, Paddock Lake, Twin Lakes, Silver Lake), which zone themselves. 010(a)(3)). 010(e). 010(f), but any replacement fixture must fully comply. 010(h), but the lighting plan still needs review and approval by the Department of Planning and Development, the office that administers zoning permits for the affected site plan.
Violations & Fines
A property that installs or keeps an unshielded fixture in violation of Section 12.15.010(a) is subject to the ordinance's general penalty under Section 12.53.010: a forfeiture of not less than $10 nor more than $500 per violation, plus the cost of prosecution, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense. Citations are issued by the Planning and Development Director, Administrator, or authorized deputies under the Uniform Citation Ordinance (Section 12.52.030), and unpaid forfeitures default to county jail time of up to 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this lighting rule apply inside the City of Kenosha?
Are house lights on a residential lot covered by this section?
What counts as a "fully shielded" fixture?
Can an existing unshielded parking-lot light stay in place?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha County
Compare Kenosha County to another location·View the Wisconsin outdoor lighting overview
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