Royal Oak, MI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 770-96, Glare and exterior lighting, is another Environmental Performance Standard applying across zoning districts, and subsection B(3) sets the numeric shielding rules that function as Royal Oak's dark-sky standard. Illumination levels at the property line may not exceed 0.1 footcandle where the site adjoins residentially zoned or used property, and may not exceed 0.5 footcandle next to nonresidential property, with an absolute ceiling of 10 footcandles anywhere on a lit site; the Plan Commission may waive those maximums only when the applicant demonstrates the extra light is necessary for safety or security.

Any lighting potentially visible from an adjacent street must be indirect or use a full cut-off shield-type fixture, and the code bars any light from spilling over the property boundary, with a narrow carve-out for pedestrian-oriented bollard lighting under 42 inches tall. Fixture height is separately capped at 20 feet generally and 15 feet on portions of a site adjacent to residential areas. All lighting, including ornamental lighting, must be shown on site plans in enough detail for the City to judge its effect on neighboring properties and traffic safety before approval, and building illumination or architectural lighting must be indirect with no visible light source.