Springfield, OH Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Springfield's Site Lighting chapter sets a numeric ceiling on light trespass, the light that spills off one property and onto a neighbor's. Under § 1118.03(b)(5), light trespass projected onto a residential use from another property may not exceed 0.1 footcandles measured at the property line, a low threshold meant to keep glare off adjoining homes. The same section requires light sources generally to be concealed or shielded to minimize glare and light pollution under § 1118.03(b)(3), bans fixtures that shine outward and create direct glare under § 1118.03(b)(4), and requires lighting to be distributed evenly to avoid extremes in luminance under § 1118.03(b)(6).

A separate exemption in § 1118.02(b) covers city-owned recreational lighting, capping illumination at the property line at two footcandles for those uses and requiring the lights be extinguished within an hour of an event's end, a higher allowance than the 0.1-footcandle residential limit because it applies only to City facilities, not private development. The Community Development Director may require modifications to any installed fixture found out of compliance under § 1118.03(a)(3), enforces the Zoning Code generally under § 1132.01, and issues a written notice of violation under § 1133.01 that names the section violated and sets a correction deadline.

An uncorrected light-trespass violation is a Class B Civil Offense under § 1324.03(a)(6), with a $100 fine ($200 if delinquent) under § 1324.99, reduced 75 percent for a corrected violation per § 1324.08.