Huntington Beach, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

The City's core outdoor-lighting standard sits in the parking chapter of the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance. 18(C), Illumination, requires that "all parking area lighting shall be energy-efficient and designed so as not to produce glare on adjacent residential properties," and that any security lighting provided for areas the public can access at night run on a time-clock or photo-sensor system rather than stay on continuously. Because Chapter 231 applies to every use required to provide off-street parking, commercial centers, apartment complexes, offices and mixed-use projects built or altered in Huntington Beach must submit lighting plans the Community Development Department can check against this glare standard before final approval.

96(G)(8) requires all outside lighting on a wireless communication facility to be "directed to prevent 'spillage' onto adjacent properties" unless the FAA requires otherwise. None of these sections set a numeric footcandle limit at the property line; the City instead reviews lighting plans and elevations for glare compliance at the design-review or entitlement stage. A resident who believes a neighboring commercial or multifamily lot's lighting spills glare onto a residential yard can file a code enforcement complaint with the Community Development Department, which can require the property owner to correct the fixture design, shielding or aim under the same section that required it be glare-free, and continued noncompliance is subject to the Municipal Code's general enforcement penalties.