Canyon County, ID Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Canyon County Code chapter 8, article 1 (the CAFO siting ordinance) requires that new and expanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations sit only in areas zoned A (agricultural), M-1 (light industrial), M-2 (heavy industrial) or IP (industrial park), and the Canyon County Development Services Department (DSD) reviews each siting permit application before the planning and zoning commission holds a public hearing under section 08-01-10, following the notice procedures for conditional use permits and Idaho Code section 67-6509. Section 08-01-11(1)(C) lists site setbacks alongside the lighting standard: feed product from the ensilage process must sit at least 350 feet from a neighboring residence, agricultural buildings and feed storage areas must sit back at least 50 feet from public rights of way, and under subsection (4) all CAFO lighting must be placed and shielded to direct the light source down and inside the CAFO's own property lines, with direct glare contained within the facility area.

Section 08-01-06 defines DIRECT GLARE as intense light from a high-luminance or insufficiently shielded source that causes annoyance, discomfort, or loss of visibility. The identical shielding and glare requirement applies to expanding CAFOs under section 08-01-12(1)(C)(4). A variance from the standard may be granted under section 08-01-13 where a parcel's unique location makes strict compliance an undue hardship. This standard governs only unincorporated Canyon County; it does not reach inside Caldwell (the county seat), Nampa, Middleton, Greenleaf, Melba, Notus, Wilder, Parma or Star, each of which enforces its own municipal code.