Noblesville, IN Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

The Noblesville UDO's environmental performance standards apply the 0.5-footcandle lighting cap to every zoning district in the city unless another section says otherwise, per § 159.200. Section 159.201 itself is short and absolute: on-site lighting of buildings, lawns and parking areas has to be designed so as not to shine or cause glare in excess of 0.5 footcandle onto any adjacent building or property, or onto any public street or vehicle thereon. That trespass cap sits alongside a companion rule at § 159.202, which separately bars any use from producing glare or heat detectable without instruments at its own property lines, and a cross-reference in § 159.201 to §§ 159.140 et seq. for the minimum lighting levels required in parking lots and loading areas, so a site has to clear both a lighting floor for its own lot and a glare ceiling at the boundary.

The rule was adopted by Ordinance 09-03-12 and amended by Ordinance 10-03-13, and it binds every use, residential, commercial or industrial, with no separate lighting permit process; compliance is checked at site plan review and through complaint-driven enforcement. The Director of Planning and Development enforces the UDO under § 159.240, investigates complaints under § 159.241, and can inspect a property between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on any day but Sunday under § 159.243. A property found spilling more than 0.5 footcandle onto a neighbor is subject to the penalty at § 159.999, fined under Appendix A's fee schedule, with each day the excess glare continues after a violation notice counted as a separate offense.