Green Bay, WI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 44-492(a) states the purpose behind Green Bay's exterior lighting rules directly: the city adopted them to eliminate problems associated with glare, as well as to minimize light trespass and spillover on adjacent properties and streets. Under § 44-492(b), the regulations reach every exterior fixture in the city, residential and nonresidential alike.

Section 44-492(c) then carves out eight exemptions. Public street lighting meeting state DOT, Brown County Highway Department, and city Public Works standards is exempt, as is any residential fixture of 1,100 lumens or less per bulb mounted on a building or used as a landscape accent; anything brighter than 1,100 lumens needs an approved lighting plan under § 44-493, listing fixture height, shielding, and a photometric grid. Aviation lighting, holiday lights at or below 45 lumens per bulb, historic fixtures approved by the Historic Preservation Commission, residential lights at or below 0.25 foot-candle at the property line, and sign-associated lighting are also exempt, and existing lighting that predates the ordinance is legal nonconforming until replaced or altered.

Section 44-496 sets the foot-candle ceilings that enforce the trespass limit at the property line, scaled to how well the fixture is shielded: a non-cutoff pole light is capped at 0.25 foot-candle at a residential property line and 0.5 foot-candle at a nonresidential line or right-of-way, with a maximum 15-foot pole; a semi-cutoff fixture (90 degrees or more) is capped at 0.5 and 1.0 foot-candle respectively, at up to 25 feet; and a fully shielded, full-cutoff fixture (under 90 degrees) is capped at 1.0 foot-candle at any property line, at up to 40 feet. Section 44-494 additionally bans front-yard floodlights outside Chapter 30's sign rules and any flashing or flickering light, including one that mimics a traffic signal within 300 feet of one.