Roanoke, VA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

2-625) governs outdoor lighting citywide. 2-625(a) requires that all outdoor lighting be fully shielded, or located, aimed, and shielded, so that it does not present glare on abutting lots or streets and minimizes spill light trespassing upward or across lot lines. It separately prohibits any outdoor lighting that shines directly into abutting residential dwelling units or buildings on adjacent lots, or for which the bare point source of illumination, the arc tube itself, is visible from the property line, and it requires electrical feeds to lighting standards to run underground rather than overhead.

Building-mounted uplighting is allowed only when an overhanging architectural element functionally contains the light beam within the building's roofline. Subsection (b) sets mounting-height limits by district: in all residential districts, the MX Mixed Use District, and the IN Institutional District, pole-mounted lighting cannot sit closer than 10 feet to a lot line and cannot exceed 18 feet in height measured from the lowest light-emitting part of the fixture to grade. In every other district, pole-mounted lighting can reach 35 feet, but any fixture within 30 feet of a residentially zoned lot line must carry a house shield that side-shields the fixture facing the residential lot. Any building-mounted light must be mounted below the roofline. 2-624 must be submitted with the permit application.