Bethel, CT Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

8B(1) opens with the operative standard: all exterior lights and sign illumination must be designed, located, installed and directed to prevent direct or objectionable glare or light trespass. The same subsection also requires fixtures to be shielded to the extent possible, to use soft transitional light levels consistent from area to area, to minimize contrast between light sources and dark surroundings, and to stay confined within the target area. Subsection B(3) sharpens that into a bright-line residential rule: in all residential zones, and in all areas adjacent to residential property, no externally mounted, direct light source directed towards the property line may be visible at the property line at ground level or above.

That means the test is visibility of the source itself from the boundary, a stricter standard than a generic nuisance-glare rule. 8: fixtures for playing fields must keep their beams within the playing area and immediate surroundings with no direct illumination directed off-site, and flagpole lighting must be low-level and aimed directly at the flag. A complaint about a neighbor's light spilling onto adjoining property is evaluated against this specific zoning rule rather than a general nuisance ordinance, since Chapter 118 is the instrument the Planning and Zoning Commission adopted, effective May 15, 2025, for the districts in question.