La Habra, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 8.16.040(Q) is the city's light-trespass standard, folded into the same nuisance chapter that covers substandard buildings and abandoned vehicles rather than a separate lighting code. It has two parts: first, all exterior lighting must be focused, directed, and arranged so it does not glare or directly illuminate a street or a neighboring property; second, for any property within, or adjacent to, a residentially zoned property, the light reaching the property line must not exceed zero foot-candles. That zero foot-candle line effectively bars any measurable spillover of light across a residential boundary, whether the source is a security floodlight, a sign, a sports-court fixture or landscape lighting.

Because the standard is written as a nuisance rather than a permit condition, a neighbor's complaint about glare or spillover triggers the same notice-of-violation process as any other Chapter 8.16 condition under Section 8.16.080, rather than a building-permit review, though new construction is separately reviewed against Title 18's zoning lighting standards at the time a permit is issued. Community and Economic Development Department staff can measure light levels at the property line to confirm a violation before issuing a notice, and the same office handles the resulting abatement case through the standard Chapter 8.16 hearing process.