Sullivan County, TN Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

4(2)(a) as the illumination one foot from a uniform one-candlepower source. Where a commercial, manufacturing or community facility use sits next to a residentially developed lot, the light reaching the boundary of that residential property cannot exceed four foot-candles measured at the property line, regardless of how bright the fixtures are on the source side. The same subsection also requires that fixtures be shielded so that substantially all directly emitted light stays within the source property in the first place, which is the mechanism that keeps trespass under the four foot-candle ceiling in practice.

4(2)(b) singles out exterior building floodlights, the wall-mounted or pole-mounted fixtures aimed at a building's facade or sign, and requires them to be shielded or aimed so that all of the light lands on the surface of the structure being illuminated or on the ground, rather than shining outward past the building toward a neighboring lot or the street. Subsection (c) adds that no illumination may create glare that interferes with drivers on public streets, including light that could be mistaken for a traffic signal or that flashes or changes intensity.

These glare standards apply within commercial and manufacturing zoning districts and to community facility uses in any district; they are part of the Article VIII Performance Standards that also cover noise, odor, and hazardous-materials handling. Compliance is checked by the Building Commissioner as part of site plan review before a permit issues for qualifying commercial or manufacturing development.