Commerce City, CO Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 21-7702's general standards start with shielding: except where specifically exempted, every outdoor light fixture must be fully shielded, and if the light source would otherwise be visible past the property line, shielding is required so it cannot be seen from inside any residential dwelling unit. Single-family and duplex lighting gets its own version of the same rule, requiring placement or shielding so exterior and security lighting does not become a nuisance to abutting homes. The illumination-level standard tightens that further: in no case may exterior lighting add more than one foot-candle to illumination levels at any point off-site, meaning the property generating the light bears responsibility for whatever spills across the line, not just for shielding the fixture itself.

Compliance is checked through a point-by-point photometric plan submitted with the development review application, and the city can order an independent photometric study at the applicant's expense under § 21-7703 if there is any disagreement about whether a project meets these numbers. The same article sets fixture height limits, 25 feet for freestanding lights near single-family property and 30 feet elsewhere, plus a curfew requiring automatic timers that shut most fixtures off between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., with carve-outs for business hours, security lighting and flag illumination.