Dothan, AL Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 114-182 governs off-street parking and loading citywide. Subsection (e) sets construction and maintenance specifications for every commercial parking area, including the light-trespass rule in (e)(1)c: lighting fixtures must be arranged so they do not unreasonably disturb occupants of the site itself, occupants of adjacent residential properties, or drivers on nearby streets. That duty sits alongside companion site-design rules in the same subsection, such as requiring wheel guards so no parked vehicle extends past the lot line and requiring paved, all-weather surfaces for commercial parking, vehicle maneuvering areas and driveways.

Compliance is checked at the development-plan stage: subsection (b) makes the parking and lighting requirements applicable to all parking and loading areas in every zoning district, and bars issuance of a certificate of occupancy until the required parking and lighting facilities are actually in place. Responsibility for installing and maintaining lighting that meets the no-disturbance standard falls jointly on the property operator and owner under subsection (c). Because the standard is written as a performance rule rather than a numeric footcandle limit, the planning and development department evaluates fixture placement, shielding and aim against the actual impact on the nearest residential lot when reviewing a site or development plan under article V of chapter 114.

A property owner who installs floodlights or unshielded fixtures that spill glare onto a neighboring residence, or that make it hard for a driver to read a traffic signal or lane line, is out of compliance with § 114-182(e)(1)c regardless of how many lumens the fixture produces.