Perris, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Perris does not have a dedicated outdoor-lighting or dark-sky chapter in its Municipal Code, and the code as published on Municode contains no separately adopted Mount Palomar lighting ordinance. (The 45-mile Palomar Observatory dark-sky zone is a Riverside County standard, Ordinance No. 655, administered by the County for unincorporated areas, not by the City.) Within the city, the principal outdoor-lighting requirement appears in the parking and loading standards: Section 19.69.030 requires that parking areas have lighting capable of providing illumination for security and safety, with a minimum of one foot-candle maintained across the parking surface, that lighting standards be energy efficient and in scale with the structure, and - importantly for dark-sky purposes - that any illumination, including security lighting, use full-cut-off fixtures and be directed away from adjoining properties and the public right-of-way. For signs, Section 19.75.160 (Sign illumination standards) caps illuminated signs at a maximum luminance of 750 cd/m2 (nits) at night, requires external sign illumination to use fully shielded fixtures, and requires signs to drop to the nighttime level from one-half hour before sunset until sunrise (per NOAA times). Beyond these provisions, lighting is reviewed case-by-case through site plan and design review. Because the city defers to these general standards rather than a comprehensive dark-sky code, residents and developers should confirm specific project lighting requirements with the Development Services Department.