Summit County, OH Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential standard
- Minimize glare and trespass onto adjacent lots
- Commercial/industrial standard
- No trespass beyond property lines
- Applies to
- Subdivisions in unincorporated Summit County
- Review stage
- On-site lighting plan filed with Final Plat
- Penalty
- $100 to $1,000 per violation per day
- Variance path
- Sec. 1111.06, filed 20 days before hearing
Summary
Sec. 1106.08(a)(2) of the Subdivision Regulations requires every light fixture chosen for a Summit County subdivision to minimize glare and light trespass onto adjacent properties, and subsection (b) separately bars commercial and industrial subdivision lighting from crossing property lines or causing off-site light pollution.
(2) All light fixtures chosen shall minimize glare and light trespass onto adjacent properties. (b) Commercial and Industrial Lighting. For commercial and industrial Subdivisions, on-site lighting shall not trespass beyond property lines and shall be so designed as to eliminate light pollution occurring off-site.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 08(a)(2) sits among the on-site Lighting Standards for every Major Residential Subdivision in the unincorporated area of Summit County: all light fixtures chosen shall minimize glare and light trespass onto adjacent properties. Subsection (b), Commercial and Industrial Lighting, goes further for those subdivision types, requiring that on-site lighting shall not trespass beyond property lines and shall be so designed as to eliminate light pollution occurring off-site, and it further sorts required lighting into pedestrian, private-parking and public-street types. Both clauses sit inside Chapter 1106's overall Landscape Plan requirement, so they apply at the plat-review stage, when a Developer's on-site lighting drawings go to the County Planning Commission, County Engineer and local Township for approval under Sec.
01, not to a homeowner's existing porch light or security light. Because Sec. 03 limits these Subdivision Regulations to land located within the unincorporated area of Summit County, the light-trespass standard does not reach Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton, Stow, Hudson or any other incorporated city, each of which regulates lighting under its own code. The trespass language traces to Res. 2008-026 (adopted March 17, 2008) and was last amended, along with the rest of Chapter 1106, by Ord. 2023-339 (adopted November 27, 2023). A Developer who believes site conditions make full compliance an extraordinary hardship may apply for a variance under Sec. 06 at least 20 days before a Planning Commission meeting, citing the specific subsection at issue.
Violations & Fines
On-site lighting that glares or trespasses onto a neighboring lot in violation of Sec. 1106.08(a)(2), or commercial and industrial lighting that crosses a property line in violation of subsection (b), is enforced under Sec. 1111.05: a $100 to $1,000 penalty for each violation, with each day a violation continues after notice counted separately, referred by the Planning Commission to the County Prosecutor for action in Common Pleas Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this stop my neighbor's floodlight from shining into my yard?
Is the trespass rule stricter for commercial developments?
Does this rule apply inside Akron or Hudson?
What can a developer do if the standard can't be met?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Summit County
Compare Summit County to another location·View the Ohio outdoor lighting overview
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