Raleigh, NC Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

4, Site Lighting, governs every fixture the city permits under UDO Sec. 1, and a site lighting permit is required before installation, replacement, or any change to a fixture's wattage, type, mounting or location. The applicant must submit a point-by-point footcandle printout showing the location and aiming of each device plus manufacturer specification and photometric sheets proving compliance with the article's footcandle limitations. Sec. 10, Building and Security Lighting, is Raleigh's core shielding standard: fixtures must be selected, located, aimed and shielded so direct illumination stays on the building facade, plantings and other intended site features and away from adjoining properties and the street right-of-way, and every wall pack fixture must be full cutoff.

Uplighting is restricted to accenting architectural features, landscaping or art, and even then the fixture must be located, aimed or shielded to minimize light spill into the night sky. The shielding mandate extends into other fixture types: Sec. 5 requires full cutoff fixtures in parking and vehicular display areas and caps fixture height at 30 feet there (15 feet in pedestrian areas, 15 feet within 50 feet of a Residential District), and Sec. 6 requires floodlights to be aimed at least 45 degrees down from vertical or shielded so no portion of the bulb extends below the shield edge, with floodlights emitting 1,000+ lumens near a right-of-way aimed at least 60 degrees down from horizontal. Routine lamp, ballast and photo-control maintenance on an existing fixture does not trigger the permit requirement, but a wattage or fixture-type change does.