Pismo Beach, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 17.24.100 of the 1998 Zoning Code applies to all exterior lighting on private property within the City of Pismo Beach. The code never uses the term dark sky, but the shielding and downward-direction requirements do the same work.

Subsection B(1) is the core rule: new lighting shall be energy-efficient, and shielded or recessed so that direct glare and reflections are confined to the maximum extent feasible within the boundaries of the site, and shall be directed downward and away from adjoining properties and public rights-of-way. Subsection B(2) adds a hard cap: no permanently installed lighting shall blink, flash, or cast more than 1.0 foot candles of illumination on lighted areas. Subsection B(3) requires every fixture to be appropriate in scale, intensity, and height to the use it serves.

Subsection B(4) requires security lighting at all entrances and exits, except in the residential zoning districts, so a house is not required to light its doors but a shop or apartment building is. Subsection B(5) tightens the rule in the V overlay zoning district, where exterior lighting is limited to that necessary for safety and security, as determined by the director.

Subsection A covers the permit side. Applications for land use permit approval for multi-family dwellings, non-residential uses, and outdoor recreation and athletic facilities including sport courts must include complete photometric plans in addition to all other information and materials required by the department.

This page quotes the 1998 Zoning Code only. The Pismo Beach Municipal Code also prints the 1983 Zoning Ordinance under Title 17; outside its sign and glare provisions it prints no comparable shielding standard for private exterior lighting, so no numbers are blended.

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.