Tigard, OR Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Cutoff angle
- 90 degrees or greater, so light does not shine upwards
- Source visibility
- Lamps and bulbs cannot be directly visible from adjacent properties
- Applies to
- Apartments in RES-D, RES-E, MUC and MUR zones
- Side and rear property lines
- 0.5 footcandles maximum, measured vertically
- Sensitive lands boundary
- Zero footcandles maximum
- Penalty
- Class 1 civil infraction, up to $250 per day
Summary
In the City of Tigard, Oregon, apartment development must use outdoor lighting that is shielded with a cutoff angle of 90 degrees or greater so it does not shine upwards, and lamps and bulbs cannot be directly visible from adjacent properties or sensitive lands. The rule sits in Tigard Municipal Code § 18.230.040.H.
H. Lighting. ... 3. Lighting must be shielded, with a cutoff angle of 90 degrees or greater to ensure that it does not shine upwards. Lighting sources, such as lamps and bulbs, may not be directly visible from adjacent properties or sensitive lands.
Full Breakdown
Tigard Municipal Code § 18.230.040.H.3 is the shielding rule for apartment lighting in the City of Tigard, Washington County, Oregon. It has two requirements. First, lighting must be shielded with a cutoff angle of 90 degrees or greater so that it does not shine upwards. Second, lighting sources such as lamps and bulbs cannot be directly visible from adjacent properties or sensitive lands.
Chapter 18.230 applies to apartment development in the RES-D, RES-E, MUC, and MUR zones. Nonconforming apartment development in the RES-A through RES-C zones follows the RES-D standards instead. Apartments in the Bridgeport Village Plan District, the MU-CBD zone (Tigard Downtown Plan District) and the TMU zone (Tigard Triangle Plan District) answer to those districts' own chapters rather than Chapter 18.230.
The same subsection sets the numbers that sit beside the shielding rule. Minimum illumination is measured horizontally at ground level: an average of 1.5 footcandles on paths, 3.5 footcandles at required building entrances, and 2.0 footcandles at non-required entrances. Maximum illumination is measured vertically at the property line or sensitive lands boundary line: 0.5 footcandles at side and rear property lines, 1.0 footcandle where the development abuts a commercial or industrial zone, and zero footcandles at any sensitive lands boundary line.
Other zones carry parallel language. In commercial zones, § 18.320.040.G.3 requires lighting to be shielded, angled, or located so it does not shine upwards or directly onto adjacent properties or sensitive lands. In the IND zone, § 18.330.040.D applies the same test to adjacent residentially-zoned properties and sensitive lands. Parking-lot luminaires under § 18.410.030.H.2 need a cutoff angle of 90 degrees or greater so light is directed toward the parking surface. Tigard Community Development handles code compliance for the title.
Violations & Fines
A lighting violation is a violation of Title 18. Section 18.20.040 makes it unlawful to violate any provision of the title, treats each day a violation continues as a separate infraction, and classifies the violation as a nuisance and a Class I Civil Infraction under Title 6. Under § 1.16.640 a Class 1 infraction carries a civil penalty not to exceed $250 per day. The responsible party includes the owner, the occupant, or whoever created the condition, and the City of Tigard can remedy the violation by any appropriate means the code allows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the 90 degree cutoff rule require in the City of Tigard?
Can a neighbor see the bulb from their own property?
Do commercial and industrial sites in Tigard have a shielding rule too?
What limit applies next to sensitive lands?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tigard
Compare Tigard to another location·View the Oregon outdoor lighting overview
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Dark Sky Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Washington County handle dark sky rules.