Frederick County, VA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Table VIII-17 under § 165-807.05.A sets the county's light-trespass ceilings for nonresidential uses. At the property line itself, the general limit is 1.0 footcandle, but where the boundary adjoins land zoned, used or planned for agricultural or residential purposes, the maximum drops to 0.2 footcandle, measured as the maximum average maintained horizontal lighting level, and the ordinance adds a design requirement on top of the number: all light poles on that side of the site must carry supplemental opaque shielding to reduce glare from direct light-source exposure toward the residential or agricultural neighbor.

Where the adjoining use is commercial or industrial instead, the cap loosens to 1.0 footcandle with no extra shielding requirement noted. The same Part sets companion limits for other locations: 5.0 footcandles for parking lots, walkways and internal travel ways; 15.0 footcandles for high-security areas such as ATMs, fuel-station canopies, vehicle-display lots and loading docks; and separate right-of-way limits. A parallel table, Table VIII-18, covers multifamily residential development and residential parking lots, capping most property-line spill at 0.5 footcandle and dropping to the same 0.2 footcandle where the boundary touches agricultural or residential land.

Recreational-facility lighting is governed by a still more specific rule in § 165-807.05.C: horizontal illuminance measured 150 feet from the edge of a lighted field cannot exceed 0.5 footcandle, and lighting installations must demonstrate that limit through a photometric report.