Fontana, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass (2026)

Light trespass (glare or illumination crossing property lines) in Fontana is addressed on two tracks. First, FMC Title 17 Development Code sets maximum illuminance at property lines for commercial and industrial sites: typically 0.5 foot-candles at a property line shared with residential use and 1.0 foot-candles at nonresidential lines. Fixtures must be full-cutoff or shielded to prevent direct lamp views from adjacent parcels. Enforcement is handled through Design Review at permitting and through Code Enforcement response to complaints. Second, under California Civil Code Section 3479 and case law, excessive light crossing into another person's property that substantially interferes with the use and enjoyment of that property is a private nuisance. Homeowners can document the intrusion (time, intensity, foot-candle readings), ask the offending party to add shielding, and if that fails file a civil nuisance action seeking injunctive relief and damages. Fontana is not a California city with an especially detailed light-trespass ordinance, but the combination of municipal code and state nuisance law provides remedies. For residential-to-residential disputes (bright porch lights or security floods), police and Code Enforcement often encourage neighbor mediation before citing. LED security lights with motion sensors set to trigger only briefly are a common middle-ground solution.