Grand Junction, CO Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 21.11.050, General Standards, is Grand Junction's main outdoor lighting design section, and subsection (c), Shielding and Light Trespass, is where the property-line limit lives. Paragraph (1) requires that all light fixtures be aimed and shielded so direct illumination stays confined to the property boundaries of the light source, and bars aiming lighting onto adjacent properties outright, with narrow exceptions for shared parking, shared pedestrian pathways, or coordinated development spanning multiple parcels under one plan. Paragraph (2) adds that fixtures cannot be directly visible from adjacent roadways or residential uses and cannot interfere with safe vehicle operation nearby.

Paragraph (3) requires light sources to be concealed or shielded with cutoff luminaires at an angle not exceeding 90 degrees to control glare and diffusion onto neighboring land. The numeric backstop is paragraph (4): light levels measured at the development site's property line cannot exceed 0.2 footcandles as a direct result of on-site lighting, a low threshold meant to keep spillover close to ambient darkness. These standards sit alongside § 21.11.050(a)'s efficiency rules, minimum 80 lumens per watt and a correlated color temperature capped at 3,000 Kelvin, or up to 5,000 Kelvin only if the Director finds accurate color rendition crucial to safety, and (e)'s curfew on facade floodlighting between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., reinforcing that the light-trespass cap is one piece of a broader plan and building-permit lighting review, not a standalone nuisance rule.