Owensboro, KY Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Owensboro's zoning code does not regulate general outdoor lighting, parking-lot fixtures, or building floodlights the way some cities' dark-sky ordinances do; the only shielding standard in the code applies specifically to illuminated signs under Appendix F Article IX. Section 9-3(g) opens by stating 'any sign may be illuminated,' then attaches conditions. Flashing signs are prohibited outright unless another part of the article specifically allows them. Subsection (2) requires that light sources be 'located and/or shielded in a fashion that minimizes to the greatest possible extent the direct rays of any bulb that exceeds one hundred (100) watts from shining into the eyes of motorists on vehicular rights-of-way,' targeting the glare that distracts drivers passing an illuminated sign.

Subsection (3) adds a second, separate protection for neighboring land: light sources must also be shielded to minimize, to the same 'greatest possible extent' standard, direct rays 'penetrating into any adjoining property located in a residential or manufactured housing park zone or used for residential purposes.' Both duties fall on the sign owner rather than the city, and the ordinance does not set a specific footcandle, lumen, or fixture-type standard, leaning instead on the 'greatest possible extent' language as the enforceable test. The Zoning Administrator, per Section 9-3(k), can order repair or removal of any sign found defective or out of compliance, and enforcement of a lighting violation runs through the same complaint and penalty process, Sections 5.5 and 5.6, that covers every other Article IX violation.