Pocatello, ID Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Pocatello addresses glare spilling onto neighboring parcels as a distinct requirement inside its citywide lighting chapter. Section 17.05.420.B directs that all lighting fixtures, not just floodlights, be shielded to keep light off adjacent properties, singling out land next to residential uses for extra protection. That duty sits alongside the section's other fixture rules: canopy lights at businesses must be recessed with diffusers that stay above the canopy surface, and every luminaire mounted on a pole, stand, or building must have a shield, an adjustable reflector, and a nonprotruding diffuser, hardware that also limits spill onto neighboring lots.

The chapter's stated purpose, in § 17.05.410, is to protect health, safety, and welfare, reduce glare that affects travel, and cut light pollution without sacrificing security, the policy basis the city cites for requiring adjacent-property shielding rather than leaving it to individual property owners. Enforcement runs through the development review process: § 17.05.430 requires anyone proposing a new lighting installation or a change to existing lighting, other than for a single-family or two-family dwelling, to submit plans showing fixture location, height, dimensions, lamps, supports, reflectors, and related devices for review and approval by city officials before work proceeds.

A property owner who believes a neighbor's lighting spills onto their lot can raise it with Planning and Development Services, which reviews fixture plans against § 17.05.420.B at permit stage and can require correction of installed fixtures found out of compliance.