DeKalb County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Sec. 1(B) of the DeKalb County zoning code, "All lighting fixtures," requires that lighting in every zoning district be established so that no direct light is cast upon or adversely affects adjacent properties and roadways, and requires light fixtures to include glare shields limiting direct rays onto adjacent residential properties. All lighting fixtures must be cutoff luminaires with the light source completely concealed in an opaque, recessed housing; drop dish refractors are prohibited outright. 5 foot-candles across the parking area, with only one light-source type permitted per site, and fixtures must be mounted so the light cone is not directed at any property line.

Pole height is bounded between a 12-foot minimum and a 25-foot maximum, excluding a 3-foot base. 0 maximum. A professional lighting plan is required for any non-single-family development of three acres or more, or for any community recreation use proposing outdoor lighting, and that plan must show fixture locations, illumination calculations on a ten-foot grid, and manufacturer's photometric data. Exceptions under Sec. 0 average foot-candles, and sites needing fewer than five fixtures, but even those exempt lighting types must still avoid casting direct light onto adjacent properties.

This lighting standard governs only unincorporated DeKalb County property; sites within Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Stonecrest, Decatur or the county's other cities follow that city's own lighting ordinance.