San Leandro, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

04, "Regulations Applying in All or Several Districts") and applies to every use classification in every zoning district, not just a subset. 2, "From Outdoor Lighting," is the operative light-trespass rule. 340 while ignoring the parking-lot photometrics set out there. For security lighting, the code gives two compliance paths: the fixture can be indirect or diffused by design, or it can be shielded and physically directed away from any R (residential) district that lies within 500 feet of the light source. There is no minimum distance below which the rule stops applying; it reaches any nonresidential use close enough to housing.

A stricter trigger applies to lighting for outdoor court or field games, meaning tennis courts, basketball courts, athletic fields, and similar recreational lighting: if that lighting sits within 300 feet of an R district, the operator must first obtain a use permit, routing the application through Planning Commission review rather than over-the-counter approval. Subsection J of the same section lets the Zoning Enforcement Official demand evidence of compliance with these performance standards before issuing any zoning permit or other required permit, so a lighting plan can be scrutinized as part of the permit file long before a complaint is filed. The rule was adopted by Ordinance 2001-015 and last amended by Ordinance 2020-002.