Yellowstone County has no numeric light-trespass standard. In the zoning area, off-site glare can be limited (a home occupation may create none off-site) and nuisance law applies, but there is no county footcandle limit at the property line. Rural unzoned land sets no rule.
There is no county ordinance setting a maximum illuminance (footcandles) crossing a property line. The Zoning Ordinance controls glare in specific contexts: a home occupation must use no equipment that "creates visual or audible interference" and creates no glare off-site, and site-plan approvals may impose glare/screening conditions. Beyond that, spillover light that unreasonably interferes with a neighbor's use of their property may be pursued as a private nuisance. On unzoned rural county land the county sets no light-trespass rule. Inside the City of Billings, the city zoning code addresses lighting and glare for developments. Documenting the problem (photos, times) helps Code Enforcement or a neighbor determine whether a specific zoning condition or nuisance standard has been violated.
No county footcandle penalty exists. Off-site glare that violates a zoning condition or rises to a nuisance can be addressed by County Code Enforcement (406-652-2050) or, inside Billings, city zoning; persistent nuisance may support a civil claim.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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