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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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

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

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…