Madison, WI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Sec. 36(1), MGO, states its purpose directly: 'This ordinance regulates all outdoor lighting installed on residential site and commercial site property, both publicly and privately owned within the City of Madison with the exception of outdoor lighting on public streets, public bikeways and public walkways which are regulated elsewhere in the ordinances. The purpose of this ordinance is to create standards for outdoor lighting that do not interfere with the reasonable use of commercial site and residential site property, that prevent light trespass and conserve energy yet maintain night time safety.

5 horizontal-footcandle light-trespass ceiling at the property line, shielding requirements for brighter fixtures, curfews on parking-lot lighting and search/spotlights, and design tables for parking-facility illumination. Anyone installing a fixture over 1,000 initial lumens must submit cut sheets, photometric data and a plot plan to the Building Inspection Division of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development for review before installation, and a Building and Fire Code Review and Appeals Board can grant administrative exemptions where the standards cause a manifest injustice or an unreasonable compliance burden.