Salem, OR Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

005 applies to all development in every zone unless a more specific UDC provision is more restrictive. 060, Exterior lighting, sets two baseline requirements. First, exterior lighting shall not shine or reflect onto adjacent properties, or cast glare onto the public right-of-way. Second, exterior light fixtures must be located and designed so that, when the light source is viewed at a height of five feet above the ground at a distance of five feet outside the lot boundary, it is either completely shielded from direct view or produces no more than five foot-candles of illumination.

That test effectively forces full-cutoff or shielded fixtures on lot lines, since an unshielded bulb visible from just outside the property would otherwise have to stay under the five foot-candle ceiling to comply. The rule applies to any development activity subject to UDC review, including commercial, industrial, and multi-family sites, and is enforced during site plan review and building permit issuance by the Salem Community Development Department's Planning Division. 5 horizontal foot-candles, unless the fixture is shielded to the same cutoff or is a non-cutoff luminaire emitting no more than 10,000 lumens per pole. 060 and Ordinance No. 31-13, the 2013 UDC recodification.