Sussex County, DE Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Governs
- Filling station exterior lighting
- District
- B-1 Neighborhood Business
- Standard
- No glare hazardous or annoying
- Numeric footcandle limit
- None specified
- Reviewed at
- Site plan stage
Summary
Sussex County's only codified exterior-lighting standard sits in the filling-station rules for the B-1 Neighborhood Business District: § 115-69A(11)(i) requires that 'exterior lighting must not cause glare hazardous to passing motorists and annoying to adjacent properties.' The county has no general residential light-trespass ordinance; this glare standard applies specifically to gas stations and similar fuel-sale uses.
Filling stations, subject to the following requirements: ... A solid fence or wall at least six feet high must be erected along all property lines adjoining a residential district. Such fence or wall shall, on a side property line, terminate 20 feet from the front property line. ... Exterior lighting must not cause glare hazardous to passing motorists and annoying to adjacent properties.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4401089; v17 updated 2025-06-17; through 06-17-2025).
Full Breakdown
§ 115-69A(11) lists filling stations as a permitted use in the B-1 Neighborhood Business District only if the station meets a dozen conditions, from a 14,000-square-foot minimum lot and a 20-foot pump setback to a six-foot fence along any residential property line. ' The standard is qualitative, not numeric: the code does not set a foot-candle limit, a fixture-shielding requirement, or a curfew for when lights must dim, leaving the Planning and Zoning Commission to judge glare and annoyance case by case when it reviews the required site plan under § 115-69A(11)(a).
Because this standard is written into the filling-station use requirements rather than a chapter-wide outdoor lighting article, it binds gas stations, convenience stores with fuel pumps and similar uses in the B-1 District specifically; Sussex County's zoning code does not contain a parallel general light-trespass rule for other commercial districts or for residential properties. and annoying' language quoted above.
Violations & Fines
A filling station whose lighting causes glare hazardous to motorists or annoying to neighboring properties is out of compliance with § 115-69A(11)(i) and § 115-15's bar on uses that fail listed conditions; the Commission can deny or condition the site plan, and code enforcement can pursue the noncompliant fixture as a zoning violation under Article XXVIII.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sussex County limit how bright a gas station's lights can be?
Is there a general light-trespass ordinance for Sussex County homes?
Who enforces the filling-station lighting standard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sussex County
Compare Sussex County to another location·View the Delaware outdoor lighting overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.