Mebane, NC Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Mebane's outdoor lighting standards, adopted under UDO Section 6-6 and last amended June 3, 2024, start from a general rule: all exterior lighting used around buildings, recreation areas, parking lots and signs must be designed to protect against spillover onto adjacent properties and glare onto public rights-of-way that could impair a motorist's vision. The Zoning Administrator enforces the numeric limits in Section 6-6(D)(1): light fixtures must generally be full cutoff and mounted no higher than 35 feet above grade, and light trespass onto adjacent land is capped at 0.2 foot-candles measured at a nonresidential property line next to a residential zone or use, and at 1.5 foot-candles at a nonresidential line facing another nonresidential development or a public right-of-way.

The Zoning Administrator can approve a higher right-of-way reading only after consulting public safety officials, for example where a business needs brighter lighting near an intersection. Parking lots carry their own floor: a minimum of 0.2 foot-candles, with the average-to-minimum ratio held to 4 to 1 so lots are not lit unevenly. Fixtures must sit at least 10 feet from a property or right-of-way line and stay out of required buffers, and exterior lamp color temperature is capped at 4,000 Kelvin, with sports fields and event areas exempt from the Kelvin cap.

A site or subdivision lighting plan, certified by a licensed lighting professional, must go to the Zoning Administrator before construction plan approval for any development with parking, though small projects under an acre can get that requirement waived. Wall-mounted fixtures aimed at a residential parcel must be full cutoff, and after 10:00 p.m. the code calls for special protection of adjoining residential property from off-site illumination.