Dubuque, IA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Dubuque City Code § 16-13-3-2 governs the location and design of exterior site lighting citywide. Two of its standards target spillover directly: all exterior lighting must be designed, installed and maintained so it does not cause glare or shine onto adjacent lots and streets, and no light source may provide illumination onto an adjacent lot, building or street in excess of one foot-candle. Those limits sit alongside the section's separate shielding requirement (fixtures cut off above 72 degrees from vertical) and its cap on building-mounted fixture height at the roofline, so the foot-candle ceiling is one layer of a broader glare-control package rather than a standalone rule.

The provision applies to site lighting reviewed as part of a site plan under Title 16, the Unified Development Code, covering commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family projects. It dates to Ordinance 52-09 (October 19, 2009) and was last amended by Ordinance 2-23 (January 17, 2023). A property owner or neighbor who believes a light source exceeds the one foot-candle spillover limit can document the reading and file a complaint with the city planner, who investigates under the Title 16 enforcement procedure.