Pittsburgh, PA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Public Works
- Penalty
- $100 per day, per violation
- Cutoff optics trigger
- Above 3,500 initial lamp lumens
- Full cutoff trigger
- Above 14,000 lumens
- Banned fixture type
- Mercury vapor lamps
Summary
Pittsburgh's Lighting Code requires new and majorly renovated outdoor lighting to use permanently installed shielding and, above 3,500 lumens, cutoff or full cutoff optics: enforced by the Department of Public Works with a $100 daily fine per violation.
All lighting installations shall be designed to minimize or eliminate light pollution to the fullest extent possible by use of permanently installed shielding on luminaires. The extent of shielding shall be determined in conjunction with the optical classification to meet trespass requirements listed in Section 1201.07.
(c) Cutoff Optics Required.
(1) Applicability: Class 1—Roadway, Class 2—Public Realm, and Class 4—Commercial.
(2) All exterior lighting luminaires with an initial lamp lumens output greater than three thousand five hundred (3,500) lumens and less than fourteen thousand (14,000) lumens shall be classified as having cutoff optics.
(3) All exterior lighting luminaires with an initial lamp lumens output greater than fourteen thousand (14,000) lumens shall be classified as having full cutoff optics.
(d) Exterior Vertical Surface Illumination (i.e. façade illumination).
(1) Applicability: Class 6—Decorative.
(2) All lighting installations utilizing vertical surface illumination for aesthetic effects, where the initial lamp lumens of the luminaires are greater than three thousand five hundred (3,500) lumens, must provide calculations indicating building uplight being accomplished with eighty (80) percent direct illumination (as a percentage of lumens) of the intended surface.
(3)
Full Breakdown
Chapter 1201 (Lighting Code), adopted 2011, applies to new outdoor lighting installations, additions or modifications exceeding 25% of floor area, dwelling units, or parking spaces, and to public/government buildings citywide. Fixtures for roadway, public-realm, and commercial lighting (Classes 1, 2, and 4) must carry permanently installed shielding, and any luminaire rated above 3,500 initial lamp lumens must use cutoff optics: full cutoff above 14,000 lumens. Decorative facade uplighting above 3,500 lumens must deliver at least 80% of illumination directly onto the surface or run on a midnight shutoff timer. Mercury vapor lamps are banned outright, and lighting installed before the 2011 ordinance is grandfathered until the property changes use or is abandoned.
Violations & Fines
The Department of Public Works enforces the Lighting Code; violating any section, including the shielding, cutoff-optics, or mercury-vapor-lamp ban, carries a $100 fine per day the violation continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pittsburgh's light pollution rule apply to my house?
What counts as 'cutoff optics' under the code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pittsburgh
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