Showing ordinances that apply to Sandia Heights, NM
Sandia Heights is an unincorporated community (population 3,273) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Because Sandia Heights is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Bernalillo County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The dark sky rules rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Bernalillo County enforces the New Mexico Night Sky Protection Act (NMSA §74-12-1 through -11), one of the nation's oldest dark-sky laws. All outdoor lighting over 150W incandescent equivalent must be fully shielded. IDO §5-11 adds local curfews and lumen caps.
New Mexico was the first state to pass a comprehensive dark-sky law (1999 Night Sky Protection Act, NMSA §74-12). It requires all new outdoor light fixtures to be fully shielded (IESNA full-cutoff) if they produce more than 150W incandescent or 1,800 lumens, and bans most mercury vapor lighting statewide. Bernalillo County IDO Section 5-11 implements the Act locally: all outdoor lighting must be full-cutoff, maximum 3000K color temperature, with lumen caps based on zoning (e.g., 25,000 lm/acre in residential, 100,000 lm/acre commercial). Sign lighting must shut off by 11 PM or one hour after close in non-residential zones near residential. The County is near multiple protected night-sky sites (Sandia Mountain Wilderness, Petroglyph NM). Exemptions: emergency, construction, and seasonal low-voltage decorative lighting. Sunport (KABQ) FAA-required aviation lighting is exempt.
Non-compliant new fixture: correction notice under IDO §5-11, 30 days to replace. Continued violation: fine up to $500 per fixture per day. Commercial sign left on past curfew: citation plus possible sign permit revocation.
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