Pomona, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Effective date
- July 1, 2024 (Zoning and Development Code)
- Parking lot light height cap
- 30 feet
- Pedestrian light height cap
- 15 feet
- Non-cutoff exception
- fixtures under 9,500 initial lumens
- Prohibited fixtures
- searchlights, dished cobra-head lenses
- Permit trigger
- photometric plan required for new lighting
- Color rendering minimum
- CRI 80 or higher
Summary
Pomona's Zoning and Development Code requires nearly all outdoor light fixtures to be full cutoff and shielded, banning searchlights, skyward beams, and dished cobra-head fixtures. Parking lot lights top out at 30 feet, pedestrian pole lights at 15 feet, and any project adding parking or pedestrian lighting must submit a photometric plan proving compliance before permits issue.
a. Lighting Sources Not Permitted ...2. Temporary searchlights and other high-intensity narrow-beam, moving fixtures that shine light directly up to the sky. ...c. Parking and Pedestrian Area Lighting ...3. All light fixtures must be full cutoff (shielded), except as listed below.
4. Non-cutoff (unshielded) fixtures can be used when the maximum initial lumens generated by each fixture is less than 9,500. These fixtures generally feature globes or vertical glass planes and must be coated with an internal white frosting to diffuse light.
Full Breakdown
2). a). c is full cutoff, meaning the fixture housing must fully shield the lamp so no light escapes above the horizontal plane. The code allows one narrow exception: non-cutoff, unshielded fixtures rated below 9,500 initial lumens, provided they use globes or vertical glass panes coated with an internal white frosting to diffuse the glow. Height caps reinforce the shielding requirement: pole-mounted lights in parking lots and other vehicle-use areas cannot exceed 30 feet, and pole-mounted pedestrian-area fixtures cannot exceed 15 feet. d): each fixture must be aimed at least 45 degrees down from vertical, or the fixture front must be shielded so no part of the bulb extends below the shield's bottom edge, and any floodlight within 50 feet of a street right-of-way must aim perpendicular to that right-of-way within a 15-degree side-to-side tolerance.
Every fixture must also carry a Color Rendering Index of 80 or higher, and service connections to freestanding fixtures must run underground. Any project that adds parking or pedestrian-area lighting has to submit a photometric plan to Development Services demonstrating the layout meets these standards before a permit is issued; routine maintenance like relamping or ballast swaps on existing fixtures does not trigger review.
Violations & Fines
Pomona reviews outdoor lighting for compliance at the permit stage: a photometric plan must accompany any application adding parking or pedestrian-area lighting, and Development Services can reject a plan that shows non-cutoff fixtures above the 9,500-lumen threshold, searchlights, or cobra-head dished fixtures. Existing fixtures are exempt from retrofitting unless they are replaced or relocated, at which point the new installation must meet current standards. Code Compliance investigates unpermitted or nonconforming installations reported by neighbors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pomona require all outdoor lights to be shielded?
Can I install a decorative unshielded post light in my yard?
How tall can parking lot light poles be in Pomona?
Do floodlights follow the same shielding rule as other fixtures?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pomona
California rules heatmap·Compare Pomona to another location·View the California outdoor lighting overview
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