Scottsdale, AZ Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Sec. 601 makes the outdoor lighting standards apply to all fixtures installed after July 5, 1983, and routes every installation through Development Review Board approval except lighting on the exterior of a detached single-family dwelling and its accessory buildings. Sec. 2 scales shielding to brightness: fixtures at 1,600 total initial lumens or less can skip the shield and downward-direction requirement in single-family districts, fixtures from 1,601 to 3,050 lumens need a shield and, where mounted eight feet or higher, downward direction, and anything over 3,050 lumens must have a shield, direct the light down, and be full cutoff with no exceptions.

Recreation lighting other than sports fields is capped at 20 feet unless the Foothills Overlay, Environmentally Sensitive Lands, a place of worship, private school, or tennis club with a conditional use permit applies, in which case DRB reviews the height case by case. m. m. A except for new-development grand openings. Sign lighting is carved out to Article VIII instead. Any fixture that cannot meet these tables, including custom or decorative lighting, is treated as nonstandard lighting under Sec. 603 and cannot be installed without a discretionary use permit.