Salt Lake County, UT Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass (2026)

Salt Lake County regulates outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution, glare, and light trespass to neighboring properties. Standard residential lighting rules under Title 19 require exterior fixtures to be shielded such that the light source or filament is not directly visible beyond property lines, and light trespass onto neighboring residential parcels must not exceed 0.1 foot-candle at the property line. Commercial and industrial areas have stricter standards including full-cutoff fixtures (no light emitted above horizontal), maximum correlated color temperature of 3000K or lower in many contexts, and curfew hours for non-essential signage and display lighting. The Foothills and Canyons Overlay Zone established under Title 19 Chapter 19.72 imposes dark-sky friendly lighting requirements including full-cutoff fixtures, amber or warm-white LEDs, and strict limits on lumen output per acre. The County has worked with Utah dark sky advocates given its proximity to multiple International Dark Sky Places including Antelope Island State Park across the lake and certified dark-sky communities in rural Utah. Prohibited lighting includes mercury vapor fixtures, unshielded floodlights, rope and string lighting used commercially, and lasers directed skyward. Holiday decorative lighting is generally exempt from November 15 through January 15. Enforcement is primarily complaint-driven through the Planning and Development Services Division, with correction notices issued before fines.