Whatcom County zoning requires outdoor lights be arranged to direct light away from adjoining property and public roads. There is no countywide residential foot-candle cap. Bellingham limits light trespass to about one foot-candle at property lines through design review.
In unincorporated Whatcom County, light-trespass control runs through zoning conditions rather than a single spillover standard. WCC 20.80.523 requires parking-area lighting arranged to direct light away from adjoining property and the public road, and conditional-use approvals like battery-storage facilities repeat the direct-light-away requirement. There is no countywide foot-candle limit at residential property lines, so a homeowner bothered by a neighbor's floodlight relies on code compliance for permitted uses and on common-law private nuisance, where a court can order an unreasonable light shielded or redirected. Bellingham is stricter inside the city, requiring shielded fixtures and capping light trespass at roughly one foot-candle at property lines in design review. Shoreline lighting near Lake Whatcom must minimize reflected light.
Whatcom County Planning and Development Services can act on glare tied to a permitted use, typically ordering a fixture reshielded or redirected. Absent a specific standard, a resident's remedy is a private-nuisance suit; Bellingham enforces its own cap.
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