Shoreline, WA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Shoreline's Prohibited Lighting list in SMC § 20.50.115(B) goes beyond the general shielding duty in subsection (A) by naming specific fixture types outright banned. First, outdoor floodlighting is prohibited when the floodlight projects above the horizontal plane, meaning light aimed upward toward the sky rather than down onto the ground it is meant to illuminate. Second, search lights, laser source lights, or any similar high-intensity light are banned outright, with no intensity threshold to satisfy since the fixture type itself is disallowed. Third, the code bans any flashing, blinking, rotating or strobe light illumination device located on a building's exterior or inside a window if it is visible beyond the boundaries of the lot or parcel, which reaches interior lighting that leaks outward as well as exterior fixtures.

The same subsection carves out six exemptions: emergency response lighting for police, fire or medical personnel; swimming pool and water feature lighting governed by Article 680 of the National Electrical Code; signs and sign lighting regulated under Subchapter 8; holiday and event lighting, except for outdoor searchlights and strobes; sports and field lighting; and lighting triggered by an automatic emergency or security alarm system. Because the floodlight ban is keyed to upward projection rather than total prohibition, downward-aimed floodlighting for security or landscape purposes can still comply if it does not project above the horizontal plane.