Beloit, WI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 8-806, titled simply 'Glare,' is Beloit's light-trespass rule for industrial uses. It sits inside the Chapter 19 industrial performance standards (§ 8-800 series) that apply specifically to Manufacturing districts, alongside noise limits in § 8-801, vibration limits in § 8-802, and smoke, toxic-matter and odor standards in §§ 8-803 through 8-805. The glare rule works in two parts. First, any operation or activity in a Manufacturing district that produces intense glare must be conducted so that direct and indirect illumination from the light source does not exceed one footcandle of power intensity when measured at any Residential district boundary line, meaning the light spilling across the property line into residential territory is capped at that single footcandle threshold.

Second, separate from the numeric cap, flickering or otherwise intense sources of light must be controlled so they do not create a nuisance across any lot line, a broader standard that is not limited to the Residential-boundary measurement point and can reach a neighboring Manufacturing or Commercial lot as well. The section does not set a curfew or hooding requirement for fixtures the way some cities do; it regulates outcome, the measured light level and nuisance effect, rather than fixture design. A related footcandle limit appears elsewhere in the Zoning Code for sign lighting, which caps illumination at one footcandle at an adjoining residential lot line, but that is a separate signage standard, not part of § 8-806 itself.