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

4 sets the city's general light-trespass standard for outdoor lighting on private non-residential property. Fixtures must be shielded or recessed so direct light, glare, and reflections are confined to the maximum extent feasible within the boundaries of the site, and lighting must be directed downward and away from adjacent residential properties and public rights-of-way. No permanently installed light may blink, flash, or be of unusually high intensity or brightness, a call the Director makes on a case-by-case basis, and every fixture must be sized and scaled to the use it serves so it doesn't create unreasonable impacts on surrounding property or draw undue attention to the site.

The Director can require complete photometric plans and other supporting materials for permits involving exterior lighting, letting the city evaluate glare and spill before a project is approved rather than after neighbors complain. 4 doesn't reach since that section is limited to non-residential property. Together the two sections mean that whether the light source is a commercial parking lot fixture or a new ADU's porch light, Fairfield's code requires it to stay off the neighbor's side of the property line.