Whittier, CA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

070(H) of Whittier's off-street parking chapter is the city's operative light-trespass standard: it requires that lighting for any parking area with five or more spaces, or a new or used-car sales lot, be arranged so as to reflect the light away from adjacent properties. The section pairs that trespass rule with mounting-height limits meant to control glare and spillover at the source. Pole-mounted fixtures illuminating parking lots and yards are capped at a maximum height of eighteen feet measured from finished grade. Lighting for uncovered parking areas, vehicle access-ways, and walkways may not exceed sixteen feet in height, dropping to a maximum of eight feet for rooftop lighting on any parking structure located on a lot adjacent to a residential zone, directly addressing spillover onto homes.

Pedestrian-height fixtures at plazas, walkways, and entries are recommended at twelve to fifteen feet, with thirteen feet called out as optimal, and bollard or step lighting is recommended for low-level illumination of walkways and landscaped areas. 0 footcandle on a pool deck and water surface. Because the standard is written as a duty to arrange lighting so it reflects light away from adjacent properties, code enforcement can act on complaints of glare or spillover onto a residential lot line without a separate lighting nuisance ordinance.