Owensboro, KY Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Article XIII covers off-street parking, loading and unloading areas citywide, and Section 13.13, titled simply 'Lighting,' states the rule in one sentence: any lighting used to illuminate off-street parking areas must be arranged so it reflects away from any adjoining residential zone or use and away from any public right-of-way. The provision sits among the parking area development and maintenance standards of Section 13.1, alongside paving, drainage, landscaping and space-dimension rules, so it applies every time a business, apartment complex or institutional use in Owensboro builds or resurfaces a parking lot subject to Article XIII.

The rule does not set numeric footcandle limits or fixture-shielding specifications; it is a performance standard enforced case by case by the Zoning Administrator when a landscape or development plan is submitted for approval under Section 17.5, since lighting plans for vehicular use areas are commonly reviewed alongside the landscaping plan required for parking lots. A separate sign-lighting rule in Article IX, Section 9-3(g), requires sign light sources to be shielded so their direct rays minimize penetration into adjoining residential or MHP-zoned property, showing Owensboro applies the same reflect-away-from-residential principle to both parking lot lighting and illuminated signage.