National City, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Light trespass is handled at several levels in National City. The purpose clause (§ 18.46.010) says lighting, by virtue of its intensity, brightness, direction, duration and hours of operation, can constitute a nuisance to adjacent residential dwellers, and the chapter exists to reduce glare, light trespass, and overlighting.

The core rule is § 18.46.070 for uses within fifty feet of residential zones. Lighting poles must be no taller than twenty feet. Fixtures must be aimed and shielded so they do not direct illumination on adjacent residential zones, and they must be of a type or adequately shielded to prevent glare from normal viewing angles. At the discretion of the review authority and where feasible, additional landscaping is used to provide light screening between commercial and residential zones, and the director takes into consideration the landscaping standards, the design standards, the creation of excessive shadows or dark spaces, and views into and out of the site.

Residential properties carry their own wording. In multi-unit attached projects, fixtures must be properly shaded to screen the windows of habitable rooms from the direct rays of light, and all outdoor lighting must be shielded and adjusted so light is directed to fall only on the same premises on which the source is located (§ 18.46.100). For single-family uses, lighting must be directed to fall only on the same premises as the source. Floodlighting is discouraged and, if used, must be shielded to prevent disability glare for drivers or pedestrians, light trespass beyond the property line, and light above a horizontal plane (§ 18.46.110). Perimeter security lights must include motion sensors and stay off unless an intruder is within five feet of the perimeter, with the activation zone inside the owner's boundaries (§ 18.46.050(E)). Sports and recreation lighting cannot direct direct illumination off the site (§ 18.46.090). A nonresidential parking area adjoining a residential use in an RS zone needs a landscaped buffer with a minimum ten-foot width and a solid, continuous decorative masonry wall or fence to address nuisance noise and light/glare (§ 18.44.110(A)(5)).