Tulare, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass (2026)

Light trespass - unwanted light spilling from one property onto another - is regulated in unincorporated Tulare County through General Plan policy and the County's general nuisance authority rather than a dedicated foot-candle-limit ordinance. General Plan 2030 Policy LU-7.18 (Lighting) directs the County to improve and maintain lighting in park and recreation facilities so as to prevent nuisance light and glare spillage on adjoining residential areas, and Policy LU-7.19 (Minimize Lighting Impacts) requires lighting in residential areas and along County roadways to be designed so artificial light does not reflect into adjacent natural or open-space areas unless required for public safety. For new discretionary development, the Resource Management Agency typically imposes conditions requiring exterior fixtures to be shielded and directed downward to keep light on the project site and out of neighboring properties, consistent with these policies and the County Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 352). Where existing lighting creates a persistent glare or spillover problem onto a neighbor, the issue can be pursued through the County's public-nuisance provisions in the Ordinance Code, which allow the County to require abatement of conditions that interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of nearby property. Because there is no published numeric trespass threshold, outcomes are case-specific and tied to the permit conditions or nuisance findings for the property involved.