Santa Barbara County, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass (2026)

Light trespass - unwanted light spilling onto a neighboring property - is regulated in the unincorporated County through the Land Use & Development Code (LUDC) Section 35.30.120 (Outdoor Lighting). The section requires that all exterior lighting be hooded and that no unobstructed beam of exterior light be directed toward any area zoned or developed residential. This functions as a light-trespass control: lighting must be shielded and aimed so it does not cast a direct beam onto residential neighbors, and it must not interfere with vehicular traffic on a street. The County's broader site-planning standards (Article 35.3) reinforce design compatibility and protection of neighboring properties. The County also advanced a 2025 outdoor-lighting (dark-sky) ordinance in Chapter 35 that may add or refine spillover/shielding requirements; any specific numeric light-trespass thresholds should be confirmed against the adopted ordinance text rather than relied on from summaries. In the Coastal Zone, the certified Local Coastal Program lighting provisions also apply. If a neighbor's lighting casts a direct unobstructed beam toward your residence, that may violate LUDC 35.30.120; report concerns to Santa Barbara County Planning & Development for code-enforcement review.