El Monte, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Municipal Code Section 17.60.050, Outdoor Lighting, addresses light trespass, meaning light crossing onto a neighboring parcel, separately from the dark-sky rule that governs light aimed skyward. Subsection B.1 requires all lights on a property to be directed, oriented, and shielded to prevent light trespass or glare onto adjacent properties, the public right-of-way, and driveway areas, a general performance duty that applies to every outdoor fixture citywide. For single-family and multiple-family residential projects, subsection C.2 converts that general duty into a measurable limit: outdoor lighting cannot exceed 0.3 footcandles at the property line, and pole or wall-mounted fixtures cannot exceed 20 feet in height, or the height of the roof eave if attached to a single-family home.

Nonresidential and mixed-use projects get a parallel but higher ceiling, capping at one footcandle on any adjacent residentially zoned property under subsection D.3.b, with pole heights topping out at 25 feet in most nonresidential districts and 30 feet in manufacturing zones. Motion-detector security lighting is allowed under B.3 only if there's no light trespass or spillover onto adjacent properties, on top of separate mounting-height and wattage caps. Drive-thru facilities must screen headlight glare so it doesn't cause nuisance or disabling glare or otherwise result in light trespass under subsection E.3, and service stations must keep all light sources, including canopy and perimeter lighting, shielded or recessed so light is deflected away from adjacent properties under subsection E.5.

A lighting plan prepared by a qualified lighting engineer is required with most new-construction entitlement applications so the Community Development Department can confirm compliance before fixtures go in.