West Des Moines, IA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 9-14-6.B.6 of the West Des Moines Zoning Code, the same chapter that sets accessory building design and setback standards, addresses light trespass from garages, sheds, carports and other accessory structures. Every fixture mounted on, or installed near, an accessory building must be downcast or shielded, and it must be located so that glare and spillover lighting stay off the neighboring property. The rule sits inside the accessory buildings chapter rather than a freestanding outdoor lighting title, so it reaches garage floodlights, shed security lights and carport fixtures that a homeowner installs after the structure goes up, not just the fixtures shown on an original building permit application.

The same downcast-and-shield standard appears again in section 9-14-9.D for lighting mounted on fuel pump island canopies, which must be recessed with flush lenses and aimed downward to eliminate glare and spillover beyond the property line, showing the city applies the same anti-trespass design standard across different accessory and commercial structures. Development Services reviews compliance during accessory structure and site plan applications, and a homeowner who installs an unshielded floodlight that washes light across a neighbor's yard is out of compliance with section 9-14-6.B.6 even if the shed itself otherwise meets every size and setback limit in the same section.