Livonia, MI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 7.22(2)(C) of the Zoning Ordinance sets Livonia's light trespass standard: exterior lighting must be designed, located, and maintained so that no more than 0.5 foot-candles of light crosses onto a neighboring property, measured at the property line five feet above the ground. That is a stricter number than the 1.0 foot-candle average the same section allows for a property's own parking areas and walkways, so a fixture that is fully compliant for its own lot can still violate the trespass limit if it throws light across the line. The subsection also bars any fixture whose light-emitting element, the bulb or lens itself, is directly visible from the neighboring property, which the ordinance identifies as the primary cause of glare complaints.

This trespass limit works together with the shielding and full cut-off requirements in Section 7.22(2)(A), the fixture-height caps in Section 7.22(2)(E), and the up-lighting restrictions in Section 7.22(2)(D), all found in the same lighting section, so a homeowner or business responding to a glare complaint from next door is often dealing with more than one standard at once. The City Council retains a narrow waiver authority under Section 7.22(5) if it finds evidence that strict compliance would itself create a worse impact on neighboring property, but that determination is discretionary and made case by case rather than by right.