San Jacinto, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 17.300.080 of the San Jacinto Development Code, titled Outdoor Light and Glare, is a performance standard that § 17.300.020 applies to all new and existing uses in all zones. Light or glare from exterior lights, mechanical or chemical processes, and reflective materials used or stored on a site must be shielded or modified to prevent emission of light or glare beyond the property line or upward into the sky. Figure 3-1 illustrates the standard.

Subsection B is the fixture rule. Exterior lights must be made up of a light source, a reflector and shielding devices that, acting together, control the beam so it is not directed across a property line or upward into the sky. Bare bulbs are not allowed. Subsection C adds a sign rule: lighting fixtures that illuminate an outdoor advertising display must be mounted on the top of the advertising structure and directed downward. Parking area lighting has its own standards in Section 17.330.080 (Parking Design and Development Standards).

Three exemptions apply. Exterior fixtures legally installed before the effective date of the Development Code are exempt, but when existing luminaries are reconstructed or replaced, the new work must comply. Lights used for temporary holiday decorations are exempt. Portable temporary lighting used by law enforcement or emergency services personnel to protect life or property is exempt.

The section prints no lumen cap, color temperature or curfew hour, so the test is shielding and beam direction rather than a measured number. Under § 17.300.020, if requested by the Director or review authority, applicants must give the Director evidence of compliance before a building permit or business license is issued, and uses that existed when the chapter took effect cannot be altered so as to conflict with the standards.