Onslow County, NC Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

5(B)(1) states that all outdoor lighting shall be shielded to prevent glare from trespassing onto adjacent properties, adjacent streets, or otherwise create a nuisance or safety hazard. 5(A) limits the whole lighting section to those other uses once lighting is proposed at all. Unlike the dark-sky design rules in the same section, which set a numeric 30-foot pole height and require full cut-off fixtures specifically for parking lots, the trespass duty in Subsection B(1) is a general performance standard: it does not specify a footcandle limit at the property line or a maximum distance the light can travel, only that the fixture be shielded so it does not spill glare onto a neighbor's land, onto the adjacent street, or otherwise become a nuisance or safety hazard.

5 when it reviews a commercial or multi-family site plan, and it stands as an independent basis for a complaint if a neighboring property owner reports glare crossing the line even where a fixture technically meets the height and fixture-type standards.