Pocatello, ID Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Pocatello's zoning code sets a citywide lighting standard rather than leaving fixture design to individual builders. Section 17.05.420 applies to all private land uses in every zoning district and requires shielding so light is aimed at the ground and away from reflective surfaces, plus a hard cap on mounting height: fifteen feet in residential, residential/commercial/professional, and mixed-use districts; thirty feet in commercial districts; and forty-five feet in industrial districts. In commercial districts, pole-mounted lights cannot rise higher than the building they illuminate if that is shorter than the district cap.

Canopy structures at businesses, such as gas station canopies, must use recessed fixtures with diffusers that do not extend below the canopy surface, and any luminaire on a pole, stand, or building must carry a shield, adjustable reflector, and nonprotruding diffuser. Section 17.05.420.G separately targets floodlighting: any facility that needs floodlights must arrange them so they do not shine toward roadways, adjacent properties, or directly into the night sky, the closest the code comes to an explicit dark-sky mandate. Section 17.05.430 requires lighting plans for all proposed developments except single-family and two-family dwellings, showing the location, height, and dimensions of every fixture, lamp, support, and reflector for review by city officials, plus separate street lighting plans submitted with subdivision plats.

Planning and Development Services enforces these standards during site plan and building permit review; the mayor or a designee serves as the enforcement officer for Title 17 generally under § 17.01.170.