Sauk County, WI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 7.091(7) of the Sauk County Code of Ordinances sets the county's outdoor lighting standard within the Parking and Loading subchapter of the zoning code, and it applies whenever a use in unincorporated Sauk County triggers a land use permit under Section 7.089, covering all zoning districts and uses. The lead sentence requires that any lighting used to illuminate parking areas be directed away from adjacent properties, cast no glare onto public rights-of-way, and be angled downward. Section 7.091(7)(a) goes further, requiring every outdoor luminaire subject to the section to be a fully shielded lighting fixture, specifically to minimize artificial sky glow.

That shielding requirement sits alongside two related standards in the same subsection: light trespass beyond the property line is separately barred by paragraph (b), and any light above the horizontal plane at the luminaire is barred by paragraph (c). A site plan submitted with a land use permit application has to show a lighting plan, per Section 7.153(4)(f), listing the location, height, type, orientation, and power of every proposed exterior fixture, giving the Zoning Administrator the information needed to confirm the fixtures meet the shielding requirement before a permit issues.

The rule reaches beyond commercial parking lots because Section 7.089 applies the whole Parking and Loading subchapter to any new structure, expanded use, or use change requiring a land use permit, not only to businesses.