Cambridge, MA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 11.207.7.6(d)
- Applies to
- Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) Projects
- Fixture requirement
- Fully shielded, directed away from residential lots
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Inspectional Services
- Related review
- Non-binding Planning Board consultation, § 19.40
- Current supplement
- Supp. No. 8, January 2026
Summary
Cambridge's zoning ordinance requires new outdoor light fixtures in Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) developments to be fully shielded and aimed away from neighboring residential lots, so glare and spillover from a new project's site lighting cannot wash into a next-door yard or window.
11.207.7.6 Environmental Design Standards.
(d) New outdoor light fixtures installed in an AHO Project shall be fully shielded and directed to prevent light trespass onto adjacent residential lots.
Full Breakdown
6, the Environmental Design Standards for Affordable Housing Overlay Projects, is the zoning ordinance's specific fixture-level answer to light trespass. 207's modified dimensional and use standards, so this fixture standard attaches at the building permit and design-review stage for those projects rather than to every outdoor light citywide. 70 where the site is in that overlay (without requiring a separate special permit), and (c) leaves the project subject to all other applicable environmental laws, codes and regulations. 40, where lighting design, glare and shielding can be raised and negotiated as part of that review even though the Board cannot deny the project outright. 6 family of provisions. This text is current through Supplement No. 8 (January 2026) of the Zoning Ordinance.
Violations & Fines
A fixture installed unshielded or aimed onto a neighboring residential lot is a zoning noncompliance the Inspectional Services Department can flag during permit inspection or in response to a resident complaint, requiring re-aiming or replacement of the offending fixture before a certificate of occupancy issues; there is no separate fine schedule specific to this subsection, so enforcement runs through the standard zoning-compliance and building-permit process rather than a stand-alone citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cambridge have a citywide light trespass ordinance?
What counts as an AHO Project under this rule?
Who enforces the shielding requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cambridge
Compare Cambridge to another location·View the Massachusetts outdoor lighting overview
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Light Trespass & Shielding in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle light trespass & shielding.