Maryland has no statute on residential light trespass, but Harford County's zoning code does. Section 267-79 requires light to be shaded, shielded, or directed so it does not reflect into neighboring residential lots or buildings, enforced through site-plan and code review.
No Maryland statute governs light spilling from one home onto another, so a Harford County resident bothered by a neighbor's floodlight relies on two paths. The first is the county zoning code: Section 267-79 requires lighting to be shaded, shielded, or directed so its brightness does not reflect into residential lots or buildings, a standard applied through site-plan review and code enforcement, mainly on commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily development. The second is a common-law private-nuisance claim, where a court can order an unreasonable light shielded, redirected, or dimmed if it substantially interferes with a neighbor's use of their property. For an ordinary house-to-house floodlight with no site plan, the nuisance suit is usually the practical tool.
Where the zoning standard applies, the Department of Planning and Zoning can require a noncompliant fixture to be reshielded or redirected. Otherwise a resident may bring a private-nuisance suit in which a court orders the offending light shielded or dimmed.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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Harford County, MD
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See how Harford County's light trespass rules stack up against other locations.
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