Richardson, TX Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

The glare standard in Article XXII-B, Section 2(E)(1) does two things at once: it requires shielded, controlled-beam fixtures, and it sets a hard numeric ceiling on how much light can actually reach an adjoining lot. That ceiling is one foot-candle, measured at the property line, and it binds every zoning district because Section 1 applies the performance standards citywide and to any special-permit area, not just industrial or commercial zones. The ordinance carves out only one exception: parks and recreational fields owned, leased, operated, or managed by a municipality or an independent school district are not held to the one foot-candle cap, recognizing that stadium and athletic field lighting needs far more intensity to be usable.

Everything else, from a homeowner's landscape lighting to an office campus's parking lot fixtures in the Telecom Corridor, has to stay at or under that limit where it crosses onto a neighboring parcel. The rule is measured, not judged by appearance, which means a code officer with a light meter can document a violation at the boundary line itself rather than relying on a subjective glare complaint. Because it sits in the same subsection as the shielding duty, a light that is both aimed onto a neighbor's yard and reads above one foot-candle there breaks two distinct requirements in a single inspection.