Lenexa, KS Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Lenexa defines light trespass as light emitted by a fixture that is cast beyond the boundaries of the property on which the lighting installation sits. The limits appear in Section 4-1-C-4, subsection I, Exterior Area Lighting, of the Unified Development Code.

For covered site development, lighting plans must be designed so direct and indirect light causes no more than 0.5 vertical footcandles at any point along the property line of an adjacent residential district. The measurement method is fixed: at 5 feet above grade, with the light meter facing into the site and perpendicular to the horizontal plane. Applicants prove compliance with a point-by-point photometric layout plan built on a grid of 10 feet by 10 feet or finer, with calculations that reference Illuminating Engineering Society guidelines.

House-side shields are required for fixtures on the perimeter of a site next to single-family and two-family development, and for fixtures inside a multifamily development that sit 30 feet or less from an interior living space. The code defines a house-side shield as a visor or solid panel that restricts the view of the light source from the adjacent property, on light poles and building-mounted fixtures alike. Full cutoff fixtures, flat lenses and non-adjustable brackets are also required to minimize light trespass onto adjacent properties, buildings and roadways.

Ball fields, driving ranges, tennis courts, outside theaters, arenas and similar recreational uses are reviewed case by case. Full cutoff fixtures are not required for them, but the light source must be shielded to minimize trespass onto surrounding residential properties, illumination at the recreational property line is capped at one footcandle, and the lighting must be able to switch off automatically 1 hour after close of business.

One-family and two-family dwellings are outside these standards, as are street lighting, emergency fixtures and motion-detecting-only fixtures. Existing sites come under the rules when redeveloped or when new fixtures are installed or existing ones modified or replaced. Lighting is checked with the Final Plan application, or with the permit application when no plan review is required.