Spalding County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 2207B(F)(5) of the Spalding County Zoning Ordinance, Appendix IV, opens by stating that its exterior lighting criteria exist to create standards for outdoor lighting that provide nighttime safety, security and utility while reducing light pollution and light trespass and increasing conservation of energy. Subsection (e) turns that goal into an enforceable number for the Tri County Crossing (TCC) Overlay District, the zone around U.S. Highway 19/41 and Zebulon Road: lighting for any use adjacent to residentially zoned property must be designed and maintained so that illumination levels do not exceed 1.0 foot-candle along property lines.

The ordinance specifies how that number gets measured, too, requiring a reading taken at ground level by a light meter certified by its manufacturer as calibrated in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards, rather than leaving compliance to a visual judgment call. The same section pairs this trespass limit with related controls: pole-mounted fixtures cannot exceed sixteen feet in height, accent lighting on building facades must point only at the structure rather than toward the sky or a neighboring lot, and every fixture must use a cutoff luminaire that hides its light source in an opaque housing.

A photometric plan demonstrating that the development's lighting design stays under the one-foot-candle limit at every adjoining residential property line is submitted with the site plan under Section 2206B and reviewed by the planning commission before the board of commissioners approves the project.