Summit County, OH Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Fixture type required
- Cut-off type for pole, wall and parking-lot lights
- Accent lighting rule
- Concealed cut-off fixtures only
- Filed with
- Final Plat lighting standards
- Applies to
- Subdivisions in unincorporated Summit County
- Reviewing body
- County Planning Commission with County Engineer
- Penalty
- $100 to $1,000 per violation per day
Summary
Sec. 1106.08(a) of Summit County's Subdivision Regulations requires every external light fixture, pole, wall-mounted and parking-lot light in a new Major Residential, Commercial or Industrial Subdivision to be a cut-off type fixture, with accent lighting limited to concealed cut-off fixtures, before the Final Plat can record.
Preliminary Plans and Final Plats shall include location of on-site lighting and drawings of special cut-off type fixtures if used. (a) Lighting Standards. On-site lighting shall be governed by the following standards: (1) External light fixtures including pole or wall mounted, and parking lot lighting shall be cut-off type fixtures of similar type and style. (3) Accent lighting of buildings or landscaping shall be permitted from concealed cut-off type fixtures. (4) On site lighting standards shall be filed with the Final Plat.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 08, part of Chapter 1106's Landscape Plan and on-site lighting standards, requires Preliminary Plans and Final Plats for Summit County subdivisions to show the location of on-site lighting and drawings of any special cut-off type fixtures used. Subsection (a), Lighting Standards, then makes the cut-off design mandatory rather than optional: external pole- or wall-mounted fixtures and parking-lot lighting shall be cut-off type fixtures of similar type and style under (a)(1), accent lighting of buildings or landscaping is permitted only from concealed cut-off type fixtures under (a)(3), and the chosen on-site lighting standards must be filed with the Final Plat under (a)(4).
Street-lighting requirements, if any, are set separately in consultation with the local Township rather than by the county itself. Like the rest of Chapter 1106, this shielding mandate reaches only subdivisions of land in the unincorporated area of Summit County under Sec. 03; it does not apply inside Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton, Stow, Hudson or any other incorporated municipality, each of which sets its own lighting code. The Planning Commission, working with the County Engineer and the local Township under Sec. 01, reviews the on-site lighting plan as part of Preliminary and Final Plat approval, and the current cut-off-fixture text carries forward from Res. 2008-026 (March 17, 2008) through Ord. 2015-561 (January 25, 2016) and Ord. 2023-339 (November 27, 2023).
Violations & Fines
A Developer who submits on-site lighting that skips the required cut-off fixtures, or who installs different fixtures than the filed Final Plat standards, is in violation of these Subdivision Regulations under Sec. 1111.05: a penalty of $100 to $1,000 for each violation, with continuing noncompliance after notice counted as a new violation each day, pursued by the County Prosecutor in Common Pleas Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the cut-off fixture rule cover my house?
What is a cut-off fixture under this section?
Who reviews the lighting plan?
What if a developer doesn't comply?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Summit County
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