Kill Devil Hills, NC Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Glare ban
- § 153.074(D)(5)
- Containment rule
- Light kept within site perimeter, (E)(3)
- Correction window
- 30 days after failed inspection
- Lighting plan
- NC-licensed engineer/architect stamp required
- Exempt uses
- Single-family and duplex dwellings
Summary
In the Town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, outdoor lighting cannot spill past the property line. Town Code § 153.074(D)(5) bans any fixture whose design, orientation or intensity throws glare onto a neighbor's land or the street, and § 153.074(E)(3) requires every site's light to be contained within its own perimeter through design, orientation or shielding.
No fixture shall be erected, either indoors or outdoors, which because of the design of light source, orientation or intensity causes glare onto adjacent property or streets. ... All light produced on-site shall be contained within the perimeter of the site by design, orientation or shielding of the light source.
Full Breakdown
074, applies to commercial, multi-family and other non single-family, non-duplex development, since one- and two-family homes and duplexes are exempted from the article by division (A). For everything else, division (D)(5) flatly prohibits erecting any fixture, indoors or outdoors, that causes glare onto adjacent property or streets because of the light source's design, orientation or intensity, and division (D)(9) separately caps fixtures at the zone's building height limit except accredited school athletic facilities, which may reach 90 feet. Division (E)(3) folds the containment standard into the chapter's general provisions: all light produced on a site must be kept within that site's perimeter through design, orientation or shielding, and division (E)(4) requires the wiring for that lighting to run underground.
074(C) subjects fixtures to annual inspection by the Planning and Inspections Department; a fixture that fails inspection gets written notice and 30 days to be brought into compliance or removed at the owner's expense. 5-1 footcandles for warehouses and multi-family housing up to 7-10 for drive-in restaurants and sexually oriented businesses, and division (E)(8) caps intensity within any 1,000-square-foot area at twice the maximum footcandle allowed for that use.
Violations & Fines
A fixture that fails the annual Planning and Inspections Department inspection or is found to cause glare onto a neighbor's property gets written notice and 30 days to be corrected or removed at the owner's expense under § 153.074(C); uncorrected violations carry the general penalty in § 10.99 and can be enforced as a civil citation under § 10.18.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Kill Devil Hills lighting ordinance apply to my house?
What happens if my business's lights are shining onto the property next door?
How does the town make sure light stays on my own property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kill Devil Hills
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