Outdoor Lighting in Iowa (2026)

Cedar Rapids requires full cutoff wall-pack fixtures on a building's front or side elevation outside industrial…

Davenport has no formal dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code caps outdoor lighting at one foot-candle at any lot…

In the City of Dubuque, exterior site lighting must be shielded above seventy two degrees from vertical, a full cutoff…

Iowa City requires most outdoor bulbs over 2,000 lumens to be fully shielded, bans floodlighting for parking and…

Johnson County's UDO includes real Downcast Lighting Regulations for unincorporated land. Outdoor fixtures must be…

Polk County's zoning ordinance requires every exterior light fixture to use one of three defined cutoff types and caps…

Sioux City requires full cut-off, downward-directed light fixtures in the Downtown Commercial district, capping pole…

In unincorporated Story County, any outdoor luminaire rated above 1,800 lumens cannot emit direct light above a…

In the City of West Des Moines, outdoor "wall pack" fixtures are banned in commercial and residential districts, and…

Adair County's Ordinance No. 4 prints no shielding or lumen standard, so it is not a dark-sky ordinance. It does…

Linn County has no blanket dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code requires off-street parking lighting to be shielded…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, outdoor lighting fixtures must be designed, installed, and maintained to prevent light…

Cedar Rapids caps light trespass from new and redeveloped sites at 0.5 foot-candles at property lines next to…

Davenport's outdoor security lighting code prohibits light exceeding one foot-candle at a neighbor's property line…

In the City of Dubuque, site lighting cannot glare or shine onto adjacent lots or streets, and illumination spilling…

Iowa City caps how much light can cross a property line under zoning code section 14-5G-4C: no more than 0.5 initial…

Johnson County's UDO prohibits outdoor lighting that spills past your property line. Fixtures must be designed so light…

Polk County caps outdoor lighting on nonresidential property next to homes at 0.2 footcandles measured at the property…

Outdoor light fixtures in unincorporated Story County cannot be aimed so that direct light spills onto residential…

In the City of West Des Moines, Zoning Code section 9-14-6 requires every light fixture mounted on or near an accessory…

Ankeny's site plan design standards require exterior lighting to be directed to eliminate impacts on adjoining sites…

Off-street parking lot lighting in unincorporated Linn County must point downward and away from homes and public…

Sioux City's zoning code requires fixed lighting on residential accessory pools and tennis courts to be arranged so…

In the agricultural and residential zoning districts of unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa, outdoor advertising…

Iowa City's zoning code flatly bans illumination on billboards and other off-premises signs. Under Table 5B-6 of the…

In the City of West Des Moines, City Code section 9-18-15 bans interior illumination on billboards outright. Only…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, a converted digital advertising sign may not exceed 5,000 NITS of brightness during…

Cedar Rapids allows billboard illumination only if the lighting is non-flashing and shielded so no beams or rays hit…

Sioux City lets off-premise advertising signs (billboards) be lit, but the light cannot flash, and citywide…

Every illuminated sign in unincorporated Polk County, including billboards, has to divert glare and keep light from…