Rothschild, WI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Village Code § 590-118, the Village's architectural review standards, applies to commercial, industrial and multifamily development, and Subsection F sets its lighting rules. General standards require every covered development to include exterior lighting, from pedestrian-scale fixtures to facade accent and parking lot lighting, and Subsection F(1)(a) requires every fixture to be dark-sky compliant: shielded, and either aimed downward or otherwise designed to prevent light from spilling upward into the sky. Subsection F(1)(b) requires the fixtures across a site to stay consistent in style and color temperature rather than mixing warm and cool light sources.

Subsection F(1)(c) caps pole-mounted parking lot fixtures at 20 feet in residential districts, 25 feet in commercial districts, and 30 feet in industrial districts, tying the shielding requirement to a hard height ceiling so taller poles cannot offset the shielding standard. These lighting standards are reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission as part of site plan approval for the developments Chapter 590 subjects to architectural review; a development that fails to meet the shielding or height limits can be required to modify or replace fixtures before final approval, and noncompliant lighting installed after approval is enforceable as a Chapter 590 violation like any other site plan condition.

The standard does not reach ordinary single-family residential lighting outside that review process, which instead falls under the Village's separate general glare-and-heat performance standard at § 590-36 that applies in every district.