Caddo Parish, LA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

UDC Sec. 7.2.B sets the Parish's ceiling on how much light a property can throw onto its neighbors. The maximum allowable footcandle at any lot line is one footcandle, measured with a direct-reading, portable light meter held horizontally, per the footcandle definition used elsewhere in the lighting article. That one-footcandle cap is not absolute: if additional security lighting is needed for security reasons in excess of the limit, the property owner can seek approval for it through site plan review, but has to present evidence justifying the added light rather than simply installing brighter fixtures.

Separately from the numeric cap, the section bars glare outright, no glare onto adjacent properties is permitted, which functions as a trespass backstop even where the footcandle reading technically stays under one at the property line but a fixture still throws a visible glare source toward a neighbor. This lot-line limit is backed by a lighting plan requirement: non-residential uses and multi-family dwellings must submit photometric plans showing the footcandle measurement at all lot lines as part of permitting, giving the Parish a documented basis to check compliance before construction, while flickering, flashing, searchlight, and laser-source lighting are prohibited entirely regardless of footcandle output.

Public roadway lighting, temporary emergency lighting used by public safety agencies, and outdoor recreational facility lighting like ball fields carry their own exemptions from the footcandle cap.