Martin County, FL Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted
- Ordinance No. 608, March 19, 2002
- Spillover cap
- 0.2 footcandles onto residential parcels
- Measured at
- 8 feet above grade, property line
- Fixture requirement
- Downward directed and shielded
- HOA exception
- Internal areas may relax standard
Summary
Every outdoor lighting fixture Martin County installs on private or public property, from parking-lot lights to security floodlights, must be downward-directed and shielded so no light shines directly onto neighboring parcels or public rights-of-way. Land Development Regulations Sec. 3.208 caps incidental spillover onto a nearby residential lot at 0.2 footcandles, measured eight feet above grade at that lot's property line.
3.208.A.All outdoor lighting fixtures shall be downward directed and shielded so as to prevent other parcels and public rights-of-way from being directly illuminated.3.208.B.Where outdoor lighting is provided on a nonresidential parcel or on a street, the maximum incidental light spillage onto a nearby residential parcel shall be 0.2 footcandles as measured at eight feet above average grade at the property line of the receiving parcel.3.208.C.The provisions of subsections 3.208.A. and 3.208.B., above, shall not apply to developments governed by a homeowner's association or similar arrangement where the lot owners have agreed to less stringent lighting standards provided that such development, as a whole, is otherwise in compliance with the subsections 3.208.A. and 3.208.B.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 62 | Land Development Regulations: Supplement 62).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 208 of the Martin County Land Development Regulations, adopted by Ordinance No. 608 on March 19, 2002, is the county's general outdoor lighting standard and applies countywide, not just inside a single overlay district. A requires every outdoor lighting fixture to be downward directed and shielded so that it does not directly illuminate adjoining parcels or public rights-of-way, covering everything from commercial parking-lot lighting to residential security floodlights reviewed at site plan or building permit stage. 2 footcandles, measured at eight feet above average grade at the property line of the lot receiving the light.
B limits at its outer boundary. Elsewhere in the LDR, the Planned Mixed-Use Village district (Article 11, Sec. 4) layers additional International Dark-Sky Association fixture guidance, full-cutoff requirements, and footcandle tables onto new construction within that specific 3,411-acre area, but Sec. 208 is the baseline shielding and spillover rule that reaches every zoning district in unincorporated Martin County, including Jensen Beach, Palm City, and Hobe Sound.
Violations & Fines
Growth Management reviews outdoor lighting plans for shielding and footcandle compliance before issuing final site plan or building permit approval, and a plan that fails the 0.2-footcandle spillover cap onto an adjoining residential lot is returned for revision. Because the standard is enforced through the permitting process rather than after-the-fact citation alone, a property owner who installs unshielded or up-lit fixtures outside an approved plan can be required to retrofit them to comply before receiving a certificate of occupancy or passing final inspection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Martin County require dark-sky or shielded outdoor lighting?
How much light can spill onto my neighbor's yard from a business next door?
Are HOA communities exempt from Martin County's lighting shielding rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Martin County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Martin County to another location·View the Florida outdoor lighting overview
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