Revere, MA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Revere Municipal Code § 17.28.170, in the loading-facilities article of the off-street parking and loading chapter, requires that lights used to illuminate loading areas be arranged to reflect light away from adjoining residential areas and away from all ways or streets. Rather than a single dark-sky ordinance covering every property, Revere spreads similar shielding duties across several use-specific sections: fast-food, take-out and drive-in restaurants must have lights that are shielded from streets and adjoining properties under Section 17.16.190(F); standing accessory multiuse signs cannot be illuminated beyond eleven p.m. where the sign abuts a residential area, and must be built to shield residential units from the sign's direct light, under Section 17.16.252; and telecommunications facilities may carry no illumination at all unless required by the FCC, FAA or other state or federal agency, under Section 17.16.110(E)(1)(d), a rule mirrored for small wind energy systems.

Site plan review committee approval for larger commercial and multifamily projects also carries a general duty to provide adequate lighting and screening as required by the SPRC, letting the committee impose shielding case by case even where no specific numeric standard exists. The upshot for a Revere property owner is that there is no blanket footcandle limit, fixture cutoff spec or curfew that applies to ordinary residential yard lighting, only the narrower duties tied to loading docks, drive-throughs, illuminated signs, and wireless or wind facilities.