Indio, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass (2026)

Indio specifically targets light trespass in Section 3.02.11 (Outdoor Lighting) of the Unified Development Code. The core requirement is that all outdoor lighting be designed, located, installed, directed downward or toward structures, fully shielded, and maintained to prevent glare, light trespass, and light pollution, and to be aimed away from adjoining properties and public rights-of-way so that no fixture directly illuminates an area outside the intended project site. The enforceable threshold is numeric: the light level at property lines shall not exceed 0.3 footcandles, which keeps a neighbor's lights from washing across your yard or into your windows. Up-lighting is allowed only when lamps are low intensity and fully shielded so no glare or light trespass results. The mixed-use zone provisions add that lighting for non-residential uses must be shielded so it does not negatively impact residential units in the development or adjacent residential uses, again pointing back to Section 3.02.11. For a homeowner bothered by a neighbor's bright security light, the practical standard is whether the fixture is fully shielded and aimed downward and whether spill at the shared property line stays at or below 0.3 footcandles. Complaints are handled by the city's code-enforcement function. The remedy is typically to shield, reaim, lower the wattage, or relocate the offending fixture.