Parker, TX Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Max intensity at property line
- 1 foot candle
- Light pole height limit
- 20 feet above grade
- Exception
- Taller pole needs special use permit
- Violation fine
- Up to $2,000 per offense
- Applies in
- City limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction
Summary
Parker's subdivision code bars outdoor lighting from throwing glare or direct illumination across a property line anywhere in the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Outside light fixtures must be shielded so the beam stays on-site, and measured intensity at the property line cannot exceed 1 foot candle. Light poles are capped at 20 feet unless the city grants a special use permit.
No use in any district, or the extraterritorial jurisdiction, shall be operated so as to produce intense glare or direct illumination across the boundary property line from a visible source of illumination of such intensity as to create a nuisance or detract from the use or enjoyment of the adjacent property. All outside lights shall be designed with a light source and reflector so selected that acting together the light beam is controlled and not directed across any bounding property line. With the exception of street lights owned and operated by the city, the maximum allowable intensity of light measured at the property line shall not exceed 1 foot candle. ... A light pole, and height of the light fixture, shall not exceed 20 feet above grade, without a special use permit.
Full Breakdown
051 of the Parker Code of Ordinances, titled Glare, applies to every use in any zoning district and in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Division (A) prohibits operating a use so that it produces intense glare or direct illumination across the boundary property line where the light is bright enough to create a nuisance or interfere with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of their property. It requires outside light fixtures to be built with a light source and reflector selected together so that the beam is controlled and not aimed across any bounding property line, and it sets a numeric ceiling: except for city-owned and operated street lights, the maximum light intensity measured at the property line cannot exceed 1 foot candle.
Division (B) separately caps the height of light poles and fixtures at 20 feet above grade, though the city can approve a special use permit for a taller installation. 999(C), which still sets the same $2,000-per-offense Municipal Court fine used elsewhere in the subdivision code. Because the rule sits in the subdivision regulations rather than the zoning chapter, it applies at the platting and site-design stage, giving the City Engineer and Planning and Zoning Commission a basis to require shielded fixtures and confirm pole heights before a plat or site plan is approved.
Violations & Fines
A glare violation under section 155.051 is a misdemeanor prosecuted in Municipal Court under the section's own penalty clause, section 155.999(C), carrying a fine of up to $2,000 for each offense. That fine mirrors the cap used for other subdivision-code violations, though section 155.051 is penalized separately rather than folded into the chapter's general misdemeanor provision.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Parker
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Parker to another location·View the Texas outdoor lighting overview
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Light Trespass & Shielding in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Collin County handle light trespass & shielding.