Hawthorne controls light spilling onto neighboring property through the development standards in Municipal Code Chapter 17.20, which prohibit lighting that produces excessive glare and require multifamily lighting to be directed downward. There is no numeric foot-candle light-trespass cap; persistent stray light is addressed through the city's nuisance and code-enforcement provisions.
Hawthorne's approach to light trespass - unwanted light cast onto an adjacent property - is performance-based rather than expressed in foot-candle limits at the property line. Chapter 17.20 requires that 'lighting fixtures shall not produce excessive glare or dark shadows' and that 'lighting for multifamily projects shall be focused downward,' both of which limit light spilling onto neighbors. New development must submit a lighting plan demonstrating these standards before installation. For existing lighting that intrudes on a neighboring home, residents generally rely on the city's nuisance framework (Article 1, Nuisances Enumerated, and related code-enforcement chapters), under which conditions that interfere with the use and enjoyment of property can be abated; the city notes the enumerated nuisance list is not exhaustive. Hawthorne Code Enforcement (reachable through the city's Planning/Code Enforcement division) handles complaints about glare and stray light, typically working with property owners to re-aim, shield, or lower the intensity of offending fixtures. Because there is no specific numeric trespass standard, outcomes turn on whether the lighting is excessive or constitutes a nuisance under the applicable provisions.
Lighting that casts excessive glare onto a neighbor, multifamily lighting not focused downward, or fixtures creating a nuisance are subject to enforcement under Chapter 17.20 and the city's nuisance and code-enforcement provisions, with orders to re-aim, shield, or reduce the lighting.
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