West Covina, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 26-53(d) of the West Covina Development Code sets the outdoor lighting design standard for the City's office mixed-use, commercial mixed-use, and manufacturing zones. The baseline rule is direct: all lighting of a building, landscaping, parking lot, or similar facility, other than exposed neon, must be hooded and directed so that it reflects away from adjoining properties, a shielding requirement aimed at keeping commercial glare off nearby homes and businesses rather than setting a numeric brightness cap the way the residential lighting rule in Section 26-47(b) does.

The section adds several specific design mandates. Luminaries must be designed and placed to complement the development, and any fixture attached to a building must be a concealed, wall-mounted, or recessed fixture rather than an exposed bulb or floodlight bolted to the wall. Security lighting fixtures cannot be substituted for the parking lot or walkway lighting a project is otherwise required to install; security lighting is restricted specifically to loading areas, storage areas, and similar service locations, preventing property owners from using a 'security' label to install brighter or less-shielded fixtures than the general lighting standard allows.

Exposed tube architectural lighting is allowed but cannot create undue glare or a nuisance to the adjoining street or properties. Neon architectural lighting gets its own numeric cap: it is limited to thirty milliamps, though the Community Development Director or a designee can approve a higher-amperage installation for unusual designs that need more current to achieve a brightness comparable to what thirty milliamps ordinarily produces. Exposed neon lighting additionally requires Planning Commission approval as part of a precise plan of design, and must separately comply with the Municipal Code's neon sign standards.