Eugene, OR Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Eugene's Outdoor Lighting Standards chapter, EC 9.6725, states its purpose up front: to minimize glare, light trespass and light pollution while still providing for nighttime safety and security, per EC 9.6725(1)(b). The operative shielding rule backing that purpose is EC 9.6725(3): any lighting fixture subject to a lighting permit must be a cutoff fixture, and the city can require additional shielding as necessary to keep the light within the boundaries of the development site where it's installed. That means a homeowner or business can't point a floodlight so it washes across a neighbor's yard or the adjacent street.

Sign lighting gets its own version of the same rule. Fixtures used to illuminate a sign, including a sign mounted on the side of a building, must be top-mounted and shielded so the light aims downward onto the sign face only, rather than spraying outward or upward. Most outdoor lighting installations need a lighting permit from the building and permit services manager before they go in, per EC 9.6725(6)(a), and that permit application is reviewed against the shielding and other lighting standards by a lighting specialist under EC 9.6725(7)(b). Fixtures that were lawfully installed before August 1, 2001 stay exempt from the shielding rule until they're replaced, and fixtures that don't exceed 1,500 lumens directed within the site boundary are exempt outright under EC 9.6725(5)(a)-(b).