Benton County, OR Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Airport Industrial Park (AIP) zone
- Fixture standard
- fully shielded, full cutoff
- Light emission above horizontal
- 0%
- Visibility test
- no bulb visible at 4 ft height
- Exempt uses
- water features, exit signs, stairs, FAA lighting
- Landscape lighting
- exempt but must avoid light trespass
Summary
Within Benton County's Airport Industrial Park (AIP) zone, BCC 81.240(12) requires street and area lighting to be fully shielded, full-cutoff fixtures emitting zero percent of their light above the horizontal plane, with bulbs invisible from adjacent properties at 4 feet above grade. Even the narrow exemption for low-voltage landscape lighting still must eliminate glare and light trespass onto neighboring land.
(12)Lighting standards are as follows:(a)Artificial lighting, including illuminated signs and lights for parking areas, shall be arranged and constructed to avoid direct glare on adjacent non-industrial and non-commercial properties and to prevent conflict with airport operations. ... (b)All installations for street or area lighting shall be designed and installed to be fully shielded (full cutoff), with 0% light emission above the horizontal plane (90 degrees), except as in the exceptions below. When viewed from a point 4 feet above grade, bulbs of luminaires shall not be visible from adjacent properties. ... (iv)Low voltage landscape lighting, but such lighting should be shielded in such a way as to eliminate glare and light trespass.
Full Breakdown
Benton County's only code section using the phrase light trespass sits inside the Airport Industrial Park (AIP) special-use zone, applied to the Corvallis Municipal Airport Industrial Park within the Corvallis urban growth boundary but still part of unincorporated Benton County. 240(12)(a) requires that artificial lighting, including illuminated signs and parking-area lights, be arranged and constructed to avoid direct glare on adjacent non-industrial and non-commercial properties and to prevent conflict with airport operations, coordinating with Federal Aviation Administration rules and the Airport Overlay zone at BCC Chapter 86.
Subsection (b) sets the technical shielding standard: all street or area lighting installations must be fully shielded, full cutoff fixtures with zero percent light emission above the horizontal (90-degree) plane, and when viewed from a point 4 feet above grade, no bulb or luminaire may be visible from an adjacent property. Five narrow categories are exempt from that shielding rule: water-feature lighting governed by Article 680 of the National Electrical Code, required exit signs, required stair and ramp lighting, FAA-required lighting, and low-voltage landscape lighting.
That last exemption is conditional, not absolute: landscape lighting should be shielded in such a way as to eliminate glare and light trespass, the only spot in the Benton County Code where the phrase light trespass appears. 235.
Violations & Fines
Lighting installed in the AIP zone that is not fully shielded, or that throws direct glare onto adjacent non-industrial or non-commercial land, fails BCC 81.240(12) review at the site development plan stage administered by Benton County Community Development and the County Engineer. Because the AIP sits under the Airport Overlay zone, non-compliant lighting also risks conflict with FAA airspace-safety rules enforced separately by the Airport Overlay provisions in BCC Chapter 86.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Benton County have a general light trespass rule for the whole unincorporated county?
What shielding standard applies to lighting in the AIP zone?
Is landscape lighting exempt from the shielding requirement?
Who reviews outdoor lighting plans in the AIP zone?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Benton County
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