Outdoor Lighting in Pennsylvania (2026)

New subdivisions and land developments in Allegheny County must use IESNA full-cutoff fixtures aimed straight down over…

Allentown's zoning performance standards require every outdoor light source, including signs, to be diffused and…

Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, requires every outdoor light to have a full cutoff fixture, meaning no light is…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, every fixture in every zoning district must be effectively…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, no light source within 200 feet of a dwelling or residential district can sit…

Lower Merion Township requires outdoor lighting to be aimed so only the lot itself is illuminated and bars any uplight…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, the site lighting code requires full-cutoff fixtures in parking areas…

Section 145-30 of the Millcreek Township Code, Erie County, Pennsylvania, states its purpose as keeping ambient…

Montgomery County has no dark-sky ordinance. Outdoor-lighting and full-cutoff fixture requirements, where they exist…

Philadelphia zoning requires exterior lighting on new commercial, multifamily, and parking-lot installations to be…

New construction and major renovations in Pittsburgh must use shielded, full-cutoff outdoor light fixtures to cut glare…

Pottstown requires downcast or cutoff-type fixtures on new development and subdivision projects reviewed under Chapter…

Reading's zoning code requires all outdoor lighting to be shaded and shielded so it does not glare onto neighbors, caps…

Scranton requires every outdoor light fixture to be shielded and aimed so glare stays off neighboring lots and streets…

Allegheny County's subdivision code requires all outdoor lighting in new developments to be aimed and shielded so it…

Allentown's zoning code requires every outdoor light source, including signs, to be diffused and shielded so it isn't…

Bensalem Township Code § 201-112(o) caps spillover light from any parking area lighting at one-half foot-candle falling…

Bethlehem's zoning code bars any operation from producing glare that's visible beyond its own property line. Section…

Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, bars any use from producing glare off the premises and caps light from a site at 0.10…

Under Bristol Township Code § 205-114, every use in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania must minimize light…

Erie's Zoning Ordinance Section 206.13(b)(1) requires every outdoor light in the Industrial Park district, spotlights…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, ambient light spilling from any property may not exceed 0.2…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an exterior light source cannot cause light spillover onto residential…

In Haverford Township, a nonresidential use cannot let direct or indirect light from its operation cause illumination…

Lower Merion Township caps light spilling onto neighboring land at 0.1 to 0.3 footcandle at the property line depending…

Lower Paxton Township caps light spilling onto a neighbor at 0.10 horizontal footcandles at the property line for…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, light sources higher than three feet above Finished Grade need a full…

Montgomery County has no light-trespass rule. Whether stray light spilling onto a neighbor's property is limited…

Penn Hills' swimming pool code bars artificial lighting that shines directly onto a neighbor's property and flatly bans…

Philadelphia zoning requires shielded, full-cut-off exterior lighting on commercial and multi-family sites so no light…

Pittsburgh's Lighting Code requires new and majorly renovated outdoor lighting to use permanently installed shielding…

Pottstown's land-development design standards bar exterior lighting that throws glare or light spillage onto…

Reading requires off-street parking areas with five or more spaces to be lit for security between sunset and sunrise…

Scranton's zoning code requires every outdoor light fixture to be shielded and aimed so glare stops at the property…

Upper Darby's parking area design standards bar glare from lighting fixtures from reflecting beyond the lot on which…

Pittsburgh caps electronic billboards at 2,500 nits during the day and 250 nits at night, with automatic dimmers and…

Externally lit billboards and signs reviewed under Allegheny County's subdivision code must be top-mounted…

Digital billboards and other dynamic-display signs in Allentown can't run at full brightness after dark. Zoning…

Bensalem's zoning code bans off-premises billboard lighting between midnight and sunrise and requires every light…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, every luminaire lighting a billboard must be full cutoff, and externally illuminated…

Erie requires every illuminated sign, including billboards regulated under the city's outdoor-advertising rules, to…

Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, limits when a freestanding sign or billboard may be lit and folds that…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a billboard can have direct or indirect lighting but not internal illumination…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, § 145-89C(2) requires conventional Billboard illumination to be…

Digital billboards in Philadelphia must stay under 6,500 nits by day, 450 nits at night, and dim automatically to match…

Reading's lighting-control ordinance requires new billboard illumination to be mounted at the top of the sign and aimed…

Scranton ties a billboard's required setback from housing directly to whether the sign is lit: an off-premises sign…