Outdoor Lighting in Massachusetts (2026)

Bristol County municipalities regulate outdoor lighting through local zoning to reduce light pollution. Fully shielded…

Inside the Thatcher Street Smart Growth Overlay District (TSSGOD), City Code § 27-155(3)(a) bars site lighting from…

Chelsea's sign-illumination rule at Code of Ordinances § 34-109(h)(5) requires lighting to conform to the…

In the City of Framingham, every outdoor luminaire tied to an off-street parking facility must be fully shielded before…

In the City of Haverhill, new nonresidential, multifamily, and mixed-use projects over 10,000 square feet or 10 units…

Leominster's zoning ordinance requires new outdoor lighting on nonresidential and commercial sites to be shielded and…

Lynn's zoning ordinance forces shielded, downward-facing fixtures on off-street parking lots: freestanding poles topped…

Medford's zoning performance standards require every outdoor light fixture on a covered nonresidential or…

In the City of Methuen, Massachusetts, any luminaire rated a total of more than 2,000 lumens must be fully shielded and…

Newton requires every outdoor light source to shine downward, with no direct light above a horizontal plane at the…

Norfolk County does not regulate outdoor lighting. Several towns (Dover, Sherborn, Medfield) have dark-sky bylaws…

In Quincy's residence districts, permanent outdoor lighting must be continuous, indirect and shielded so no direct…

Southborough's outdoor illumination bylaw, § 174-12.1, aims to curtail light pollution and reduce skyglow. It prohibits…

Springfield regulates outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution and glare. Fully shielded fixtures required for new…

New development inside New Bedford's Kings Highway transit-oriented overlay district must meet Illuminating Engineering…

Revere has no single citywide dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code requires lighting for loading docks to be aimed…

In the City of Framingham, the Zoning Ordinance holds outdoor lighting at off-street parking facilities to zero lumens…

Leominster bars any use from casting direct or sky-reflected glare beyond its lot lines onto a neighboring property or…

Development projects inside the Thatcher Street Smart Growth Overlay District (TSSGOD) cannot let site lighting…

Cambridge's zoning ordinance requires new outdoor light fixtures in Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) developments to be…

Chelsea's zoning performance standards bar exterior lighting, other than city-approved street lighting, from shining…

In the City of Everett, Massachusetts, Zoning Section 17(N) requires any lighting at an off-street parking facility to…

Fall River's zoning code requires that light sources from building, yard, and sign illumination be shielded from…

City Code Section 255-6.3.3(1)(b) requires that direct glare or light overspill from covered developments in the City…

Lynn's zoning ordinance caps how much light an off-street parking lot can throw onto a neighbor's property. Section…

Medford requires nonresidential and qualifying multi-unit developments to keep every bit of light overspill and glare…

In the City of Methuen, Massachusetts, every outdoor luminaire, regardless of lumen rating, must carry whatever…

Any New Bedford project big enough to trigger Site Plan Review, generally 2,000 square feet of new commercial space or…

Newton bans light sources that spill light beyond the property line, capping illuminance measured five feet past the…

Quincy's zoning ordinance bars floodlighting in residence districts except for walkways, driveways and holiday…

Revere's zoning code requires every fast-food, take-out and drive-in restaurant to shield its lighting fixtures from…

Somerville's Outdoor Lighting standards exist 'to minimize adverse impacts of lighting such as light trespass…

Southborough prohibits light trespass: § 174-12.1(R) says there shall be no light trespass by a luminaire beyond the…

Springfield caps spillover light from digital non-accessory signs (billboards) at 0.2 foot candles measured at a…

Taunton requires outdoor light fixtures near the street to be shielded so neighbors and passersby never see the bare…

In the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, parking lot lighting must be installed so it does not glare onto residential…

Medford, Massachusetts bans billboards outright in every zone, so there is no separate lighting standard for one. The…

Somerville's Zoning Ordinance bans billboards outright, so no billboard-lighting standard exists because no billboard…

In the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, no billboard may contain or project flashing or distracting lights or images…

Digital billboards approved along the Route 24 corridor must run automatic light-level controls and follow the state's…

In the City of Everett, Massachusetts, Section 12A-63 bars flashing lights and simulations of traffic signals or…

Any illuminated sign or billboard in Haverhill must be shaded or directed so its brightness isn't objectionable to the…

In the City of Methuen, Massachusetts, sign illumination must be arranged to prevent glare onto any public way or any…

Revere requires every digital sign, including a digital billboard approved by special permit, to go dark overnight…

Springfield, Massachusetts caps light spilling from digital non-accessory signs (billboards) at 0.2 foot candles…