Shawnee County has no dark-sky ordinance and does not regulate ordinary residential yard or porch lighting. Its Zoning Regulations control glare only through use-specific standards, such as requiring communication-tower security lighting to be shielded from neighboring property.
Kansas has no statewide dark-sky law, and unincorporated Shawnee County has no general outdoor-lighting or fixture-shielding ordinance for homes. The county's lighting controls are tied to particular uses in the Zoning Regulations. Security lighting at communication towers must be shielded so no light is directed toward adjacent properties or rights-of-way (Sec. 26.17). Home-occupation performance standards prohibit projecting light or glare off the premises (Sec. 29.02), and bed-and-breakfast event rules bar glare perceptible beyond the property line. Development near Billard and Forbes Field must also avoid glare that could affect pilots. The City of Topeka applies its own lighting and glare provisions inside city limits.
Nonconforming use-specific lighting, such as an unshielded tower light or glare from a home occupation, is corrected through the Shawnee County Planning Department's zoning enforcement. Ordinary residential light disputes are handled as private nuisance matters.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Shawnee County, KS
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Shawnee County, KS
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