Jefferson County, WI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Jefferson County Code § 22-1192 is a zoning performance standard: no direct or reflected glare from any B (business) or I (industrial) district may be detectable from any R (residential) or C (commercial) district boundary. It sits alongside related performance standards in the same article covering noise, vibration, radioactivity, odor, toxic matter, heat, dust, fly ash and smoke, all enforced against uses in the B, I, A and C districts to protect neighboring, more sensitive districts. Section 22-1193 similarly bars detectable heat from an I district crossing into an R or B district boundary, showing the same boundary-detection test is used across the performance-standards article.

Enforcement of the whole division, including the glare standard, runs through § 22-1197: a violator is subject to the county's general penalty provision at § 1-14 and must also pay the actual costs the county incurs measuring the emission or condition, such as hiring someone to confirm glare is detectable at the district line. Because the rule is measured at the district boundary rather than at a specific parcel line, a property owner troubled by glare from a neighboring commercial or industrial use should document where the light is visible relative to the applicable district boundary before filing a complaint with the Planning and Development Department, which administers the zoning chapter under § 22-52.