Gary, IN Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

A planned industrial park under Sec. 123-217(l) is a specially platted industrial subdivision within the M1 Limited Manufacturing District, at least 25 acres in size with no lot smaller than one acre or narrower than 140 feet. Among the development standards the plan commission enforces for that subdivision, subsection (l)(3)h requires that all lighting used to illuminate entrances, exits, service roads, parking aisles, parking areas, or buildings must be so arranged or shielded as to avoid glare or reflection into any portion of an adjacent street, into the path of oncoming vehicles, or onto any abutting property.

This is the only light-trespass standard reviewed in the Gary Municipal Code; it does not extend to ordinary M1 lots outside a platted industrial park, nor to business or residential districts. Compliance is checked through the site-plan approval process in Sec. 123-217(l)(3)m, which requires a site plan showing location of buildings, streets, utilities, building lines, suitable arrangements of off-street or shared facility parking, loading spaces, and adequate access to be submitted to the plan commission for final approval, with any later changes to the plan also needing plan commission review.

Because the industrial park's other performance standards, including noise, odor, and vibration limits, are pulled in wholesale under Sec. 123-217(l)(3)l, the lighting shielding requirement functions as part of the same compliance package a developer submits before construction begins.