West Des Moines, IA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

City Code § 9-10-4(7), Exterior Lighting, sets two rules for outdoor fixtures in the City of West Des Moines. First, "wall pack" lights are prohibited in the Neighborhood Commercial District, the Convenience Commercial District, and all residential districts. The ban also reaches nonresidential buildings outside those districts: if the structure carrying the wall pack sits within one hundred fifty feet (150') of a residentially zoned property or a residential use, the wall pack is prohibited there too, regardless of the building's own zoning. Second, subsection b applies citywide and to every land use: all light fixtures must be of a cutoff type, engineered to eliminate glare and spillover lighting beyond the property line, rather than shining upward or onto neighboring parcels.

Development Services reviews exterior lighting plans as part of site plan and permit review under Title 9, so a wall pack shown on submitted plans in a covered district or setback zone gets rejected before installation. Once installed, a fixture that violates either rule is treated like any other Code violation: under City Code § 1-4-1, it is a municipal infraction, a civil offense carrying a civil penalty of not more than $750.00 for a first violation, rising to not more than $1,000.00 if the same infraction repeats.

The city can also seek abatement of the noncompliant fixture rather than, or in addition to, the civil penalty. The rule does not set a total lumen cap, a curfew for lighting, or a shielding percentage; it works entirely through the fixture-type mandate (cutoff) and the district/setback-based wall pack ban, so a fully shielded, downward-directed cutoff fixture is compliant even in a residential-adjacent commercial lot.