Alameda, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

16(c)(3)(b), part of the Alameda Dark Skies Ordinance, sets the city's light trespass standard: exterior lighting must be directed downward and away from property lines to prevent excessive glare beyond the lit property, and no light or combination of lights or activity may cast more than one foot-candle onto an adjacent or nearby property. The measurement point is fixed by the code itself: illumination is measured at the property line between the lot where the light is located and the adjacent lot, at the point nearest the light source, so a homeowner or business can't rely on distance elsewhere on a large lot to average down a hot spot right at the fence line.

This trespass cap works together with the shielding rule in subsection (c)(3)(a), which requires fixtures to be fully shielded and downward-directed in the first place, and with the color-temperature cap in subsection (c)(3)(c) limiting LEDs to 2,700-3,000 Kelvin; together the three standards are meant to keep both the source and the spill of outdoor light under control. The rule applies across all zoning districts to new and existing land uses alike under the general performance-standards applicability provision in subsection (a), so it reaches everything from a homeowner's floodlight to a commercial parking lot's pole lights.