Sparks, NV Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 20.04.007 sets Sparks' dark-sky lighting standards inside Chapter 20.04's development standards, which apply to every rezoning, administrative review, conditional use permit, deviation, variance and building permit application citywide. Its stated purpose is to mitigate the impacts of future development so as to promote dark skies, and subsection A makes that the baseline rule for any lighting facility: it must be installed to reflect away from adjoining properties.

To enforce that at the design stage, subsection B requires every new development to submit a photometric plan for the Administrator's review and approval at the time of the building permit application. That plan must show that fixtures reflect away from neighboring lots, that all fixtures carry covers so the lamp itself does not extend below the cover's bottom edge, and that any light standard located in or within 100 feet of a residential zone does not exceed 12 feet in height, though the Administrator can approve a taller standard if the fixture uses a sharp cutoff lighting system that controls glare and spill. The section also bans permanent rotating searchlights in every zoning district in the city; the only exception is a temporary searchlight approved through a temporary use permit, capped at three days per use and no more than three uses in a calendar year.

Subsection C layers on a design standard: the style and intensity of lighting must consider function and appearance, reflect the existing character of the surrounding area, and replicate natural light color as much as possible, steering projects away from harsh floodlighting toward warmer, more traditional fixtures. Because these standards sit inside Chapter 20.04, a project cannot get administrative review, a conditional use permit or a building permit approved without a compliant photometric plan on file, and the chapter's general waiver rule confines relief to a variance or an appeal.