Rancho Cucamonga, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

010: balancing safety and security lighting against the city's goal of limiting light pollution, preserving dark skies, maintaining darkness for night sky viewing, and keeping light trespass and glare negligible on surrounding property, especially residential parcels and roadways. 020 triggers that standard on essentially every project: whenever an applicant needs a building permit, electrical permit, or planning entitlement, they must submit enough lighting information for the approving authority to check compliance. 040 backs the dark-sky purpose with an outright list of prohibited fixtures: neon tubing or band lighting used as architectural articulation, search lights or laser-source lights (reserved for police, fire, or an approved special event), fixtures that create a hazard to safe travel, illumination of entire buildings, roof-mounted lighting except for security or fire safety, and any moving, flashing, or animated lighting.

050(D) then sets the operating standard: lighting must be designed at the minimum level necessary for safety and security, must avoid harsh contrasts with adjacent properties, and must limit excess ambient light to maintain darkness for night sky viewing, calling out rural, neighborhood, hillside, and open space areas by name. 0 lumens for parking lots, driveways, and trash enclosures. 030 exempts holiday decorations, emergency lighting from a government agency, and lighting for a permitted temporary or special event from the whole chapter.