New Rochelle, NY Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

New Rochelle's exterior lighting chapter, § 331-22, applies to every fixture installed, replaced, or repaired after the section's effective date, and any older fixture that doesn't comply is classified as nonconforming; nonconforming nonresidential lighting had to be swapped for compliant fixtures within six months of the March 28, 2017 amendment. The design rules are strict: all exterior lighting must use full cutoff fixtures with the light source directed downward and level with the horizontal plane, canopy lights such as gas station canopies must be fully recessed or shielded, and unshielded wall packs and floodlights are flatly "not permitted." Fixtures cannot exceed 20 feet in height, and privately owned lights on public utility poles or in the right-of-way are prohibited outright.

Residential properties get narrow carve-outs: a floodlight under 1,800 lumens, about a 100-watt incandescent bulb, is allowed if angled so its beam doesn't point more than 45 degrees from vertical and doesn't cause glare or spread past the property line, and motion-sensor fixtures are allowed if they shut off within five minutes and aren't triggered by activity off the property. The core numeric limit is the illuminance cap in Subsection B(5): nonresidential lighting cannot exceed 0.05 footcandle, horizontal or vertical, at or beyond a property line that adjoins a residential parcel or public right-of-way, with a looser 0.1 footcandle ceiling between two commercial properties. Parking and loading area lighting must stay between 1.5 and 5.0 footcandles. Any nonresidential lighting change needs Building Official approval plus a post-installation check by the Code Enforcement Officer.