Sparks Municipal Code 20.04.007 regulates outdoor lighting to promote dark skies. New development must submit a photometric plan, install shielded and covered fixtures aimed away from neighbors, and keep light poles near homes under 12 feet. Rotating searchlights are banned.
Section 20.04.007 sets criteria to promote dark skies. Any new development must submit a photometric plan for the Administrator's approval at building permit, showing that fixtures reflect away from adjoining properties and carry covers with lamps that do not extend below the cover. Light standards within 100 feet of residential zones cannot exceed 12 feet, unless a sharp-cutoff system is used, and parking lot lighting is capped at 30 feet. No permanent rotating searchlights are allowed in any district; the Administrator may approve a temporary searchlight by permit for up to three days, three times a year. Lighting should replicate natural light color.
New development that omits a compliant photometric plan or installs unshielded, upward-spilling fixtures faces permit denial and required correction. Lighting violations are enforced through zoning code compliance as misdemeanors under SMC 1.12.010.
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