Woodbury, MN Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Woodbury's zoning code treats poorly aimed outdoor lighting on single-family lots as a nuisance. Under Sec. " The code sets a specific angle test: a fixture is "properly directed" only if it points downward 60 degrees from the horizontal, so a homeowner can't simply add a small shade and call it compliant if the beam still throws sideways across a neighbor's yard. Halogen fixtures draw an even stricter standard: they "must be 100 percent shielded as viewed from the property line," so any halogen bulb visible edge-on from a neighboring lot line is out of compliance regardless of the angle it's aimed.

The section carves out two narrow exceptions. First, "standard residential lighting fixtures typically mounted at doors using low wattage incandescent bulbs, not to exceed 60 watts or comparable" are exempt, covering the ordinary porch light. Second, "holiday and decorative lighting" is exempt outright, so seasonal string lights and yard displays aren't held to the 60-degree or shielding tests. Sec. 24-236 sits in Article V of Chapter 24 (Zoning), and Sec. 24-21 makes the community development director the city's zoning administrator, the official who fields nuisance-light complaints and applies these standards to a specific fixture.