Brunswick County, NC Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

UDO Section 6.9.7.A makes it unlawful for lighting on any lot to unnecessarily illuminate and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of another property, and it defines "unnecessarily illuminates" as exceeding the illumination limits set elsewhere in Article 6.9. Those limits, in Section 6.9.6.B, cap maximum illumination measured at a property line next to a residential use or residential district at 0.2 foot-candles, next to a commercial use or district at 0.5 foot-candles, and at the street at 5.0 foot-candles. Section 6.9.7.B separately bars orienting lighting so it directs glare or excessive illumination onto streets in a way that could distract or interfere with drivers, and Section 6.9.7.D prohibits blinking or flashing lights unless required as a safety feature such as a tower beacon.

Fixture design rules in Section 6.9.5.A require the light source to be concealed behind an opaque housing and not visible from the street or adjoining properties, with overhead fixtures designed to prevent light from escaping upward. Under Section 6.9.2, this Article applies to nonresidential and multifamily development, lighting for new subdivisions or planned developments, and modifications or expansions that increase fixture count or foot-candle levels; it is not written to reach an individual homeowner's exterior lighting outside those development contexts. Fixtures in place before May 1, 2007 may continue as nonconforming under Section 6.9.8, but any replacement or expansion must meet current standards. This lighting article governs only the unincorporated county, not Leland, Southport, Oak Island or Brunswick County's other incorporated towns.