Spokane Valley, WA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

60, Outdoor Lighting Standards, was adopted by Ord. 010. 020, the chapter applies to all developments except one- and two-family dwellings and public street lighting, so it targets commercial, multifamily and institutional projects. 030(A) requires every outdoor light to include a source and reflector that keeps unshielded light from crossing a bounding property line between incompatible uses or spilling into the public right-of-way, and subsection (B) requires the light source itself to be shielded at the property line unless topography makes that impossible. Subsection (C) lets the city manager or a designee require a lighting plan for commercial development, showing fixture locations and shielding methods, when project scope or surrounding land uses warrant it.

Subsection (D) requires accent lighting on landscaping, architecture or pole-mounted flags to be concealed so the source isn't visible from adjacent lots. 040 separately bans laser light, strobe lights and searchlights outright unless a temporary permit is issued for a specific event, and even then the fixture can't project above the horizontal plane or extend into the right-of-way. 060. These provisions were amended by Ord. 13-012 in 2013 and Ord. 17-004 in 2017.