Spring Hill, FL Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Florida Statute 161.163 directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to designate coastal areas used by sea turtles for nesting and to establish guidelines (codified at Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62B-55, Model Lighting Ordinance for Marine Turtle Protection) for local governments controlling beachfront lighting. Local sea turtle lighting ordinances are required of jurisdictions with Gulf or Atlantic beachfront on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) nesting list. Hernando County does have Gulf of Mexico beachfront in the Hernando Beach / Pine Island area to the west, where coastal sea-turtle lighting rules apply, but Spring Hill itself is an inland community east of US Highway 19 and does not include any Gulf beachfront within its census-designated place boundaries. Within Hernando County, outdoor lighting for new and redeveloped commercial and multifamily projects is governed by Appendix A (Zoning) of the Hernando County Code through site plan review administered by the Hernando County Department of Building and Development, which requires that all site lighting (including pole heights and fixture types) be designed to meet the specific use regulations for commercial lighting under the zoning code and prohibits light spillover onto adjoining properties. In February 2023, the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners directed the County Attorney to research the County's authority to regulate light pollution from private property, and in April 2023 the County Attorney reported back that the County could enact a coastal lighting ordinance to protect sea turtles and could also model a residential lighting ordinance after similar codes in Volusia County and South Miami, in response to resident complaints about being harassed by neighbors' unwanted lighting. As of the most recent published Hernando County Code of Ordinances, no stand-alone dark-sky residential lighting ordinance has been adopted for Spring Hill. Single-family residential outdoor lighting within Spring Hill is therefore not subject to a county-wide cutoff, shielding, or color-temperature ordinance, but excessive light trespass into a neighboring property may be addressed under general nuisance provisions and reported to Hernando County Code Enforcement.