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

E, part of the zoning code's Site Features standards for all Residential Districts, requires that all exterior lighting be shielded and directed downward and away from lot lines to prevent excessive glare beyond the property where the fixture sits. The same subsection separately restricts motion-activated lighting: a light on a motion sensor may not be triggered by movement or activity located off the property on which the light is installed, so a sensor cannot be aimed or set to fire off a neighbor's yard, sidewalk, or driveway.

These lighting standards sit alongside other Site Features rules in the same section, including required screening of garbage cans and utility meters from the public right-of-way and from surrounding properties, and a requirement that multi-unit buildings provide an unobstructed, landscaped pedestrian walkway from the right-of-way to the building entrance. 304 site standards; a lighting complaint from a neighbor over unshielded fixtures or a wrongly-triggered motion light is evaluated against this specific shielding and off-property-triggering language rather than a general nuisance standard.