Charles County, MD Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Charles County Zoning Ordinance § 297-305, Lighting requirements, prohibits 'excessive illumination': lighting within any lot that unnecessarily illuminates any other lot and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of that other lot is prohibited outright, and the code defines 'unnecessarily illuminates' by reference to the numeric standard in § 297-306. That companion section, Lighting standards (last amended October 29, 2024 by Bill No. 2024-13), requires site lighting to be of low intensity from a concealed source, of a clear white light that does not distort colors, and forbids it from spilling over into adjoining properties, buffers or roadways, or interfering with the vision of oncoming motorists; the rule exempts public streetlighting.

Exterior lighting must meet one of two cutoff standards: fixtures with no cutoff are capped at 12 feet in residential parking lots and 20 feet in nonresidential lots, while fixtures with total cutoff, meaning the bulb is fully shielded from a five-foot-tall observer at the cutoff angle, may reach 20 feet in residential parking areas and 30 feet in nonresidential areas. Outdoor recreational lighting for ball diamonds, playing fields and tennis courts is capped at a 40-foot post height and may exceed the cutoff angle only if shielded by orientation or a landscaped buffer, with illumination at the interior buffer-yard line capped at two footcandles.

Flickering or flashing lights are banned outright, and fixtures cannot sit within required buffer-yard areas except on pedestrian walkways. Anyone installing or substantially modifying exterior lighting, or seeking a zoning permit, must submit an exterior lighting plan to the Zoning Officer to confirm compliance and that adjoining property will not be adversely impacted.