Farmersville, TX Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 77-73(c) of the zoning ordinance bars operating any use so as to "produce obnoxious and intense glare or direct illumination across the bounding property line" at an intensity that creates a nuisance or detracts from a neighbor's enjoyment of their land. The fixture itself is regulated, not just the effect: the light source and reflector must be selected together so the beam is controlled and not directed across any bounding property line above a height of three feet. Where the affected use is residential and sits in a residential district, the maximum measured intensity at the property line is one-quarter foot-candle, a low ceiling meant to keep security and yard lighting from washing onto the neighbor's siding or windows.

Section 77-73(e) adds specific residential rules: any direct light source mounted over ten feet high must be shielded from adjacent property, no residential light source may exceed 20 feet in height (street lights and traffic safety lighting are exempt), and lighting may not shine directly on adjacent dwellings. Section 77-73(f) requires down-light, indirect, diffused, or shielded luminaires to cut glare and interference with neighboring properties and boundary streets, and bans bare bulbs of 15 watts or more or strings of lamps, except temporary lighting run no more than 45 days a year and low-wattage patio cafe string lights.

Nonresidential lots get their own numeric floor rather than a trespass cap: off-street parking lit after dark must average at least two foot-candles on initial measurement and one foot-candle maintained, with poles capped at 30 feet unless city council approves a taller mount on a site plan. A. Government Code Chapter 3000) preempts a building-material or aesthetic standard, but that preemption targets construction materials, not the glare-intensity and shielding rules in subsections (c) through (f).