Onslow County, NC Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

5 (Outdoor Lighting) of the Onslow County Zoning Ordinance opens by stating that outdoor lighting is optional anywhere in the unincorporated county, but once a nonresidential, multi-family or commercial project installs it, a set of design standards takes over. Under Subsection B, fixtures must be downward facing, and/or arranged or shielded so they do not cast light above an imaginary line drawn at the top of the sign, a restriction written specifically to avoid impacting air traffic whether commercial or private from Albert J. Ellis Airport or airstrips, and/or military flights from the Marine Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Air Station New River, a concern unique to a county that hosts Camp Lejeune's air operations.

Parking lots carry an added numeric limit under Subsection C: fixtures shall not exceed 30 feet in height and shall utilize full cut-off type fixtures, the classic dark-sky design that directs light down rather than outward or up. Building-mounted lights are barred from illuminating parking areas and must instead point down toward pedestrian paths or provide architectural accent lighting, while ground-mounted fixtures may highlight landscaping or building features only if they avoid becoming a hazard for drivers on adjacent streets. Notably, single-family and two-family homes are excluded from every one of these standards; the shielding, downward-facing and cut-off requirements apply only when a property built for a nonresidential, multi-family or commercial use decides to light its site.