Santa Fe, NM Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential property-line limit
- Zero average maintained footcandles
- Governing ordinance
- Ord. No. 2011-37 § 10 (Sec. 14-8.9)
- Enforcing official
- City land use director
- Grandfathered fixtures
- Luminaires legally installed before effective date
- First-offense civil fine
- $100 under Sec. 14-11.4(C)(2)(a)
- Variance authority
- Land use director may allow higher levels case by case
Summary
Santa Fe's outdoor lighting code makes light trespass a hard numeric standard, not a nuisance complaint. Section 14-8.9 requires every new luminaire to be shielded and bars disabling glare onto neighboring land or streets, then caps the average maintained illumination at a residential property line at zero footcandles, enforced by the land use director through the construction permit process.
The purpose of this Section 14-8.9 is to regulate outdoor lighting in order to reduce light pollution , reduce or prevent glare, reduce or prevent light trespass , conserve energy, promote a sense of safety and security and ensure aesthetically appropriate outdoor lighting in keeping with the character of Santa Fe.... All outdoor luminaires shall be designed, installed, located and maintained such that nuisance glare onto adjacent properties or streets shall be minimized to the greatest extent practicable. Disabling glare onto adjacent properties or streets is not allowed.... In all cases, the average maintained footcandles at residential property lines shall be zero.
Full Breakdown
9 (Ord. No. 2. Applicants for a construction permit or historic-district review involving new, added, or remodeled lighting must submit plans showing luminaire location, type and height, manufacturer catalog cuts describing shielding, and photometric data showing the light's emission angle, unless the project is single-family residential or otherwise uses no lamp over 160 watts. 9-1 requires shielding for low- and high-pressure sodium, metal halide, and incandescent or quartz-halogen lamps over 160 watts; unshielded fixtures are limited to incandescent lamps of 160 watts or less, lights of 50 watts or less generally, or low-voltage neon, argon, or krypton tubes, and mercury vapor lamps are capped at 100 watts and restricted to landscape lighting.
Subsection (D)(3) requires every luminaire to be designed and aimed so nuisance glare onto adjacent properties or streets is minimized, and states flatly that disabling glare onto adjacent properties or streets is not allowed. 5 footcandles, and Subsection (E)(2) sets the residential property-line average at zero footcandles in all cases. An applicant seeking higher levels must justify the request in writing to the land use director, who has sole authority to grant or deny it.
Violations & Fines
Lighting violations fall under Chapter 14's general enforcement scheme in Section 14-11.4. The land use director can withhold or revoke the construction permit or certificate of occupancy tied to the noncompliant fixture, and the planning and land use department can issue a civil citation carrying a $100 fine for a first offense, $250 for a second, and $500 for a third or subsequent offense within any 36-month period. A cited owner has 15 days to pay or request a hearing before a city-appointed hearing officer, with further appeal to the First Judicial District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to replace my existing outdoor lights to meet the zero-footcandle rule?
Can a homeowner get approval for brighter-than-allowed outdoor lighting?
Does a single-family home need a lighting plan to get a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Fe
Compare Santa Fe to another location·View the New Mexico outdoor lighting overview
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