Outdoor Lighting Ordinance

A Lighting Certification is needed for Rental Housing Licenses as well as for commercial and industrial buildings, and can be completed by an architect, electrical engineer, electrical contractor or lighting consultant.

Rental Housing

Learn how to ensure you are compliant with the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance before your inspection. Single-family homes seeking a rental license certify compliance through a rental inspection. Multi-unit dwellings are required to submit a Lighting Certification to receive a four-year term license. Multi-unit dwellings will receive a one-year reduced term license if certification is not received at application, which will be extended to a full four-year term if certification is submitted within the one-year term.

Commercial and Industrial Buildings

Privately-owned commercial and industrial buildings 20,000 square feet and larger must comply with both the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance and the Building Performance Ordinance (BPO). The lighting requirements for the BPO include specific exterior lighting upgrades. These BPO lighting deadlines begin in 2021 based on building size. However, with the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance amortization deadline in July of 2018, owners are encouraged to comply with both ordinance requirements at the same time to capture economies of scale and realize cost savings for the exterior lighting upgrades required by both ordinances. Lighting rebates are available through Xcel Energy as well as Boulder County .

• Establishing maximum allowable lighting levels which are based on zoning district and use.
• Requiring lighting to be reasonably uniform to minimize light/dark contrast.
• Requiring all light in excess of 2400 lumens (roughly equivalent to a 150 watt incandescent light bulb) to be “white light," which includes metal halide, fluorescent, and induction light bulbs, because of superior color rendering properties.
• Requiring the use of full cut-off light fixtures and shielding to reduce glare, light pollution and light trespass.

• The current ordinance was adopted in 2003 and allowed property owners with existing lighting installations that are not in compliance with the ordinance 15 years to comply. As of November 15, 2018, all properties must demonstrate compliance with the ordinance.
• Property owners with building permits for multifamily dwelling units and non-residential projects, which include outdoor lighting improvements, will have to submit lighting plans that meet the requirements of the ordinance. Lighting plans must indicate lighting fixture cut sheets, foot candle readings, lighting levels at property line and within the development, lumen levels for each fixture etc. (see a list of all necessary information in the requirements of Section 9-9-16(g), B.R.C. 1981 ) and are typically required with building permits to show compliance.
• Alternatively, if the site has already been updated to comply with the outdoor lighting regulations in full and/or if no lighting on the site would exceed 900 lumens, a signed outdoor lighting certification (see link at the upper right hand corner of this webpage) affirming compliance with the outdoor lighting regulations may be submitted with any building permit or rental license. The certification shall be completed by the architect, electrical engineer, electrical contractor, or lighting consultant responsible for the plans or the final installation.
• All new buildings and redevelopment of existing buildings (including remodels and additions) must comply with all the requirements of the ordinance.
• Lighting plans are not required for single-family detached dwelling units. There are, however, some basic effective requirements for single-family dwellings such as requiring the use of shielded light fixtures (see below).

To bring outdoor lighting into compliance, owners of single-family dwellings must, at a minimum:

• Install only outdoor light fixtures that are 900 Lumens or less (no more than a 60-Watt Incandescent bulb or 15-Watt LED bulb) / No bulbs over 3,000 (K) Kelvin in correlated color temperature (CCT) (Lighting packaging includes this information in “Lighting Facts”)
• Outdoor light bulbs must be within a fixture that aims light downward and obscures view of the light bulb from view by a material that blocks or diffuses the light / No light may project upward.
• Outdoor bulbs must not project below the encasing fixture (see ‘Fully Shielded Fixtures’ below) or be visible through clear glass.
• Spot lights (or flood lights) are permitted as long as they are aimed downward, do not exceed 1200 Lumens (roughly 75-Watts Incandescent or 19-Watts LED) and are on a motion sensor and timer that turns the light off after 5 minutes of activation.

Non-compliant fixtures are those that do not shield glare from adjacent streets or properties. To bring a light into compliance, owners need to, at a minimum, replace visible bulbs with one not exceeding 900 lumens (equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb or 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb). Spot lights and flood lights must be aimed so that they don't shine across property lines. The lumen rating is commonly shown on the bulb packaging in conjunction with the wattage rating.

Frosted glass diffuses the light, obscures the light bulb and reduces glare. Full cut-off light fixtures ensure that no light projects above the horizontal, thus reducing light pollution. Full cut-off light fixtures qualify as fully shielded fixtures. If mounted at appropriate heights, the bulb is not visible from adjacent streets and properties.