Lakewood, WA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

095, to control light pollution across the city while protecting flight operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which borders Lakewood. Subsection (C)(3), Prevention of Light Trespass, requires that 'all lighting shall be designed and implemented to mitigate light trespass onto adjacent properties,' and ties the numeric ceiling to whichever Lighting Zone the property sits in. Lighting Zone 1 covers low-intensity uses such as parks and military-critical lands; Lighting Zone 2 covers residential, mixed-use and light-industrial land; Lighting Zone 3 covers heavy commercial and industrial land. 5 footcandle in Zone 3, measured at the property line.

Single-family homes, duplexes and mobile homes are exempt from the section entirely under subsection (B)(2), so a homeowner's porch or landscape lighting is not subject to the footcandle ceiling; the rule targets multifamily buildings of eight units or more, commercial sites and industrial sites. Any new, replacement or modified outdoor lighting installed after the ordinance's effective date must go through plan review and a permit under subsection (F)(7) before work begins, with plans showing the proposed luminaires and manufacturer data sheets. The Director may approve a deviation from the trespass limit under the 'Alternative Means and Methods' process in subsection (F)(7)(b), but the applicant must document the circumstances and submit engineering-level detail. 080.