North Port, FL Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Fixture type
- Shielded cutoff fixtures required
- Residential-adjacent cap
- 0.5 footcandles at property line
- Other-use cap
- 1.0 footcandle at property line
- Floodlighting
- Banned except limited internal industrial use
- Exempt
- Single-family detached and attached homes
Summary
North Port requires outdoor fixtures on commercial, multifamily, and other non-exempt development to be shielded cutoff fixtures, bans most floodlighting, and caps illumination at the property line under its 2024 lighting article.
All outdoor lighting fixtures shall be installed in such a manner that the source of each individual light is shielded, positioned, and maintained so as not to be visible off the premises and conform to the following regulations: (1) All fixtures, including security lighting, must be cutoff fixtures. ... (5) Floodlighting is prohibited except for non-retail industrial uses where the floodlight is internal to the site and cannot be seen from adjacent public rights-of-way and neighboring residential uses or zoning districts.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of the City: Supplement 65 | Unified Land Development Code: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
Under ULDC Article VII (added by Ord. No. 2024-13, effective 8-6-2024), every outdoor fixture on covered development, including security lights, must be a shielded cutoff fixture that is not visible off the premises and cannot be tilted toward neighboring property. Floodlighting is banned except for non-retail industrial uses that keep the light internal to the site. Illumination is capped at 0.5 footcandles at a property line abutting residential use and 1.0 footcandle elsewhere, and a lighting/photometric plan must be approved before any permit issues. Single-family detached and attached homes are exempt.
Violations & Fines
Installing or operating outdoor lighting on covered development without first obtaining lighting plan approval and the subsequent permit is a violation of ULDC § 4.7.1.D, enforced by the ULDC Administrator through the site plan/permit review process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply to a house in North Port?
Can a North Port business use floodlights?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in North Port
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