Olmsted County, MN Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

16 of the Olmsted County Zoning Ordinance regulates exterior lighting on every use in every zoning district the county administers, unless a chapter provision says otherwise. 04 limits county zoning jurisdiction to those townships and the areas outside city limits and outside the Township Cooperative Planning Association. Subdivision C sets the numeric ceiling: no light source may cast more than one foot-candle onto a public road, measured at the edge of the pavement, or more than five-tenths of a foot-candle onto an adjacent property, measured at the property line.

Subdivision D spells out how an inspector measures it: a light meter held six inches above the ground, aimed at the source, read once with the light on and once with it off, with the difference counted as the intensity. A landowner who refuses to let the light be switched off for the reading is cited for exceeding the standard on that refusal alone. Subdivision E adds shielding requirements layered on top of the foot-candle cap. In the county's agricultural and residential districts (A-3, A-4, ARC, RSD-residential, RA, R-1, R-2), fixtures illuminating parking areas or structures must be hooded or controlled and bare bulbs cannot be visible from adjoining property or the right-of-way.

In the commercial, industrial, and medical-institutional districts (A/RC-AER, A/RC-LILI, RSD-commercial, RC, CS, HC, I, MI), the luminaire must carry a cutoff that directs and cuts the light at 90 degrees or less, pole-mounted fixtures are capped at 25 feet, canopy lighting must be recessed and cannot exceed 115 foot-candles under the canopy, and fixtures must sit back at least 10 feet from the road right-of-way and 5 feet from a side or rear lot line. 2.