Whittier, CA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

The incorporated City of Whittier addresses outdoor lighting through its zoning design standards rather than a standalone dark-sky ordinance. The strongest, mandatory provisions are in Whittier Municipal Code Section 18.93.090 (Multi-Family and Mixed-Use Objective Design Standards - Other Features, Lighting), which states 'the following shall apply to all on-site exterior lighting fixtures': all exterior lighting fixtures must be designed and shielded to avoid direct glare onto adjacent properties; no portion of a lighting fixture may be mounted above the building facade or above the roof; and 'all lighting shall include top covers to direct light down and contribute to dark night skies, unless it is landscape up lighting.' The same section directs that building-facade uplighting, roof 'wash' lighting, and landscape uplighting 'should be operated on timers that turn off illumination entirely after 12:00 a.m. nightly.' For single-family homes, the design guidelines in Chapter 18.92 are advisory and call for shaded porch lights appropriate to the architectural style and alley lighting consistent with the prevailing style. Parking structures have their own lighting standards (Sec. 18.99.080). Whittier is not a designated dark-sky community, so there is no city-wide lumen cap or color-temperature mandate equivalent to an International Dark-Sky ordinance; the operative requirements are shielding, downward direction and (for multi-family/mixed-use) the after-midnight timer for decorative uplighting. These are city standards; unincorporated South/West/East Whittier follow LA County lighting rules.