McHenry County, IL Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

60's Site Development Standards. Any new permanent lighting installed for a residential use in the unincorporated county must be positioned so as to prevent a direct view of the bulb or polished reflective surface through a window of a residence, the same anti-glare test the county applies to commercial and industrial fixtures under subsection A, but without the full-shield requirement. The code carves out an exception for what it calls period-style fixtures, the decorative lamp-post and coach-light styles common on rural McHenry County driveways and porches, which may aim light outward without meeting the positioning test.

Subsection C separately exempts non-permanent lighting, such as holiday displays run under a temporary use permit, from any shielding or positioning requirement. 020(B) with aiming and placement alone, without buying a shielded fixture, as long as no direct line of sight to the bulb exists from a neighbor's window. 020 and separately bars detectable glare from commercial or industrial sources off the originating lot, underscoring that lighting review happens at the same building and occupancy permit stage as other site development standards.