Newport Beach, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

070(C) targets accent lighting directly: spotlighting or floodlighting used to illuminate buildings, statues, signs, or any other object mounted on a pole, pedestal, or platform, or used to accentuate landscaping, must use full cut-off or directionally shielded fixtures aimed and controlled so the light stays substantially confined to the object being illuminated. The stated purpose is to minimize glare, sky glow, and light trespass onto neighboring property. The beam width itself is regulated too: it cannot be wider than what is needed to actually light the feature, so a narrow accent light cannot be swapped for a wide floodlight that spills onto adjoining yards.

The subsection adds two absolute prohibitions: the light cannot shine directly into the window of a residence, and it cannot shine directly into a roadway, regardless of how the fixture is otherwise shielded or aimed. Any fixture attached to a building must be directed downward, which rules out uplighting a facade with a wall-mounted floodlight. This section works alongside the general shielding and full cut-off requirements in subsection (A) and the parking lot standards in subsection (B), giving Newport Beach a layered light-trespass framework: general fixtures must not glare onto adjacent property, accent lighting must stay confined to its target and never hit a neighbor's window, and parking lot lights must avoid spillover onto adjoining lots and roads.