Troy, MI Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Fixture standard
- Full cut-off or fully shielded, downward directed
- Residential boundary limit
- 0.1 foot-candle spillover maximum
- Curfew
- Dimmed/off 11:00 p.m. to sunrise
- Pole height cap
- 25 ft (30 ft in IB/PV, 200 ft from residential)
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 13.05.C
Summary
Troy requires every freestanding pole and building-mounted light fixture to be a full cut-off or fully shielded fixture, aimed downward with a flat lens to stop glare. Section 13.05.C also caps light spilling onto residential property at one-tenth of a foot-candle and orders most outdoor fixtures dimmed or shut off between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise.
C. Freestanding Pole Lighting. 1. Fixture Design. a. Exterior lighting shall be a full cut-off fixture or a fully shielded fixture, downward directed with a flat lens to prevent glare. 2. Lighting Levels. a. The intensity of light at the base of a light fixture pole shall not exceed twenty (20) foot-candles during business hours and ten (10) foot-candles after business hours. b. Light shall not exceed one-tenth (0.1) foot-candle along any boundary adjacent to residentially zoned or used property, and one (1) foot-candle along all nonresidential property boundaries. 3. Height. The maximum height of a base, a pole and fixtures shall be twenty-five (25) feet. 4. Duration. All outdoor lighting fixtures, existing or hereafter installed and maintained upon private property, shall be turned off or reduced in lighting intensity between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise.
Full Breakdown
05 of the Troy Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 39) governs all exterior lighting reviewed at site plan submission. a must be full cut-off or fully shielded, downward directed with a flat lens; decorative or historic fixtures can substitute only if the applicant proves no off-site glare using low-wattage lamps. Lighting levels are numeric: intensity at the base of a pole cannot exceed twenty foot-candles during business hours or ten foot-candles afterward, light cannot exceed one-tenth of a foot-candle along any residentially zoned or used property boundary, and cannot exceed one foot-candle along nonresidential boundaries, measured at grade and at five feet above grade along the property line.
Pole height is capped at twenty-five feet, rising to thirty feet in the IB or PV districts only if fixtures sit at least two hundred feet from a residential district. m. G separately bans search lights, flashing or intermittent lighting, and exposed luminous tube lighting outside approved signage or façade uses. 02.
Violations & Fines
Installing or operating lighting that exceeds the foot-candle limits, uses unshielded fixtures, or runs past the 11:00 p.m. curfew without a qualifying exception is a Zoning Ordinance violation under Section 3.08: a Municipal Civil Infraction under Chapter 100 of the Troy Code, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense. The Zoning Administrator can order fixtures retrofitted or removed, and the City may seek fines, costs and injunctive relief in addition to any other remedy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Troy
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