Greenwood County, SC Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 6-3-113 sets performance standards that every nonresidential use in the county must follow to control dangerous or objectionable conditions, and subsection (9) targets glare directly: no direct or sky-reflected glare from floodlights, high-temperature processing, combustion, welding, or any other source may be visible at the property line. Section 6-3-143(f) ties parking lot lighting to that same glare standard, so commercial and multi-family parking areas cannot flood adjoining lots with light either. The zoning code layers on use-specific shielding rules for residential accessory uses: private swimming pools under Section 6-3-109(i) must have all lighting shielded or directed away from adjoining residences, and tennis courts under Section 6-3-109(j) must follow the same lighting, screening, and buffering provisions.

Day care and child care centers face their own rule under Section 6-3-120(j): all outdoor lighting must be directed away from residential properties. Applicants for a use covered by the performance standards must sign a written compliance guarantee acknowledging the standards and agreeing to conform at all times; breaking that agreement is treated as a violation of the zoning chapter in its own right, giving the zoning administrator a direct enforcement hook beyond simply measuring light at the property line.