Ventura County Outdoor Lighting Restrictions
Outdoor lighting restrictions to preserve the natural darkness of the night sky or “Dark Sky” ordinances have been adopted by communities around the world, as well as throughout California such as in our neighboring Cities of Ojai and Malibu, and in the Counties of Los Angeles, Kern, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, and San Bernardino. In 2014, at the request of constituents, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors directed Planning Division staff to prepare “Dark Sky” lighting regulations that would prevent light pollution and sky glow in the unincorporated Ojai area, and the Santa Monica Mountains. To see impacts of lighting in the County, click here. For more information on dark sky policies nationwide, click this link to the International Dark Sky Association website.
Since then, the County has adopted “Dark Sky” ordinances for unincorporated areas in Ojai and the Santa Monica Mountains as well as special outdoor lighting restrictions for targeted areas (overlay zones) within the County to protect sensitive habitats and scenic resources. The lighting restrictions include the limiting use of specific lighting types, turning off outdoor lighting when not in use or during “dark hours”, and consideration for the location and position of lights. The specific regulations and their extent vary among each overlay zone because they were tailored for each community’s needs as well as the surrounding environment.
This webpage is intended to help residents distinguish between the geographical areas with outdoor lighting regulations and provide information about additional educational resources. The map below outlines the areas with Dark Sky regulations. You may click on each links below to learn more about a specific overlay zone with lighting regulations, and it will bring you to a more detailed description of those areas, or you may continue scrolling down this page to learn more about Dark Sky concepts, DarkSky Approved products, general terms, and other useful information about minimizing impacts of outdoor lighting or to report a violation. For lighting complaints, the Code Compliance Division enforces the Ventura County Building Code and NCZO and CZO in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County.
The areas, or “overlay zones” that have lighting restrictions (ordinances) and the year they went into effect are as follows:
- Santa Monica Mountains “Dark Sky” Lighting Ordinance for the Santa Monica Mountains (M) Overlay Zone (2022) [This overlay zone also is within the coastal zone and is subject to the Coastal Act and is included in the County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP).]
- Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) Ordinance for the Coastal Zone (2022) [Outdoor lighting provisions apply to only development that may impact Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) and surrounding buffer zones in the coastal zone. These regulations are included in the LCP.]
- Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridor (HCWC) Ordinance and Overlay Zone (2019) [Outdoor lighting provisions minimize impacts of lighting on wildlife and their movements. The majority of this overlay is within the County’s non-coastal zone. See map and section description for more detail.]
- Ojai Valley “Dark Sky” Lighting Ordinance and Overlay Zone (2018) [This overlay zone is within the County’s non-coastal zone.]
- Scenic Resource Protection (SRP) Ordinance and Overlay Zone (2008) [Outdoor lighting provisions apply to development that could impact the value of the scenic resource. This overlay zone is within the County’s non-coastal zone.]
The zoning of a specific parcel, and whether it is in an overlay, can be looked up using APN here.
Map of Overlay Zones and Other Areas with Outdoor Lighting Restrictions in the Unincorporated Areas of Ventura County
General Outdoor Lighting Resources
Ventura County Commonly Used Lighting Terminology in Regulations
Please note that definitions or commonly used terms may be specific to whether the overlay zone falls within the non-coastal zone or the coastal zone of Ventura County. See map or descriptions in the overlay list above to determine the areas of interest that are regulated and whether they are located in the non-coastal or coastal zone. Full definitions may be referenced in either the Ventura County Coastal Zoning Ordinance (CZO), Article 2 or the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance (NCZO), Article 2.
Dark hours: Dark hours refer to the time when lights which are not essential must be turned off. See definitions within NCZO and CZO for specifics on lighting requirements during these hours.
Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA): Applies to sensitive habitats within the coastal zone. These habitats are generally considered to be any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and development.
Fully Shielded Light Fixtures: A fully shielded fixture is one where the complete lighting unit (including the lamp and all its components) is constructed such that all light emitted by the fixture projects only below the horizontal plane. See the NCZO for graphics and examples.
Essential Lighting: Security and safety lighting are classified as “essential lighting”. Security lighting is defined as outdoor lighting that is used to deter or detect intrusions or other unwanted activity. Safety lighting is used to illuminate spaces such as along pedestrian walkways. See definitions in both NCZO and CZO ordinances.
Kelvin: Kelvin (K) is a measure of a light‘s color temperature. While this is traditionally a measurement of heat it is also related to appearance, therefore it is used as a guide to colors. Color temperatures greater than 4,000 Kelvin are bluish white and are “cooler” colors. Color temperatures less than 3,000 Kelvin are yellowish and are “warm”.
Lumens: Unlike watts, which measure the amount of energy consumed, lumens are a unit of measurement that quantifies the amount of light produced by a lamp. This provides a measurement for the brightness of a light. Generally, 850 lumens is equivalent to the amount of light produced by a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.
California’s Title 24 Energy Standards Requirements for Outdoor Lighting on Single Family Residential Buildings
The California Energy Code, §150.0(k)3A, includes the following standards for new outdoor lighting attached to a single family residential building:
- Must meet high efficacy requirements listed in §150.0(k)1A, and
- Must have manual on/off switch and one of the following:
- Photocell and either motion sensor or automatic time switch control, or
- Astronomical time clock control, or
- Controls that override to on must return to normal operation within 6 hours.
Dark Sky International
Scientific Research Into Light Pollution
Dark Sky Approved Programs
The DarkSky Approved program provides objective, third-party certification for products, designs, and completed projects that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and don’t pollute the night sky. Click here for more information.
Outdoor Lighting Regulations in the Coastal Zone
Outdoor lighting along California’s shoreline now creates a patch work of excess light that impacts views of the night sky and may disturb coastal habitats. In highly urbanized areas such as Southern California, the combination of multiple artificial light sources over a broad area can create a diffuse “sky glow” which can significantly impact many organisms that are adapted to using low-intensity light cues from star- and moonlight. For example, sky glow may have impacts on migrating birds creating urban ecological traps and disturbance of the nightly migration of sand hoppers.
Artificial light in marine and coastal areas can have a variety of negative impacts on habitats and species, including seabirds, migratory songbirds, fish and tidepool animals. Birds can suffer from “light entrapment” and become unable to leave the illuminated area until they become exhausted or collide with a structure or window. Science also suggests that artificial lighting can impact our local intertidal environments. Illuminating otherwise dark shorelines allows visually oriented tidepool and marine predators to better see their prey, increasing the susceptibility of prey species in these areas to predation. Artificial lighting also blurs the difference between day and night, disorienting organisms and causing species to be active during portions of the day or night that they may not have adapted to from an evolutionary standpoint. Please click here for related literature.
Outdoor lighting regulations that apply within the unincorporated coastal zone went into effect on September 9, 2022, when the Coastal Commission certified the amendments to the County’s Local Coastal Program. These changes included: the Dark Sky Ordinance that applies to existing and new development located in the Santa Monica Mountains (M) Overlay; as well as the outdoor lighting regulations that apply across the entire coastal zone to new development that would have light spillover into an ESHA buffer zone or within ESHA (See map below). These regulations are described in more detail below.
Map of Ventura County Coastal Zone and Santa Monica Mountains (M) Overlay Zone
Coastal Santa Monica Dark Sky Lighting Overlay Zone
In 2016, the National Park Service released a study that concluded decreases in light levels and sky glow within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area boundaries occurred in the interior sections of the park and in the Simi Hills area, as well as much of Malibu. The decreases were attributed to the implementation of local outdoor lighting regulations. This decrease of light within the Recreation Area occurred while there were increases in light levels on the edges of the Recreation Area, in the Conejo Valley and along the coast, in western Malibu and areas in unincorporated Ventura County.
In response to community interests and resident requests, and after completing the Ojai Valley Dark Sky overlay zone, on October 4th, 2016 Hearing (Item #28) the Ventura County Board of Supervisors directed Planning staff to prepare these Local Coastal Program (LCP) amendments for a dark sky overlay zone .
The Santa Monica Mountains Dark Sky lighting restrictions apply to existing and new development in the M Overlay zone (see the Coastal Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 8173-12) that represents the Santa Monica Mountains area (see map below). The purpose of the regulations is to preserve the night sky and reduce light pollution by minimizing light trespass from a building site, any glare, and skyglow. The regulations are in CZO, Sec.8177-4.1.11.
The brochures provided in the links below summarize the lighting requirements for existing and new homes as of September 9,2022.
Brochure
- Brochure for lighting replaced/installed before September 9, 2022 within the Santa Monica Mountains.
- Brochure for outdoor lighting replaced/installed after Sept. 9, 2022 within the Santa Monica Mountains and environmentally sensitive habitat areas in the coastal zone
Additional Educational Materials
Map of Santa Monica Mountains (M) Overlay Zone Where Dark Sky Lighting Regulations Apply
Coastal Zone Outdoor Lighting Regulations for ESHA
The purpose of the ESHA regulations is to protect environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA), and ensure development is compatible with the long-term preservation of these resources. ESHA restrictions apply to all new or modified developments, including repair and maintenance activities, that require a Coastal Development Permit. The restrictions apply to habitats classified as ESHA, habitats within 1,300 feet of land protected by conservation easements or under ownership of conservation organizations, habitats within 300 feet of land owned by federal or state natural resource agencies, and habitats within 500 feet of a wet environment. The presence of ESHA is determined based on certified ESHA maps, site-specific environmental assessments, aerial photographs, and data from natural resource agencies. Specific habitats classified as ESHA are defined in Section 8178-2.4.1 of the Coastal Zoning Ordinance and includes beaches where grunion are spawning, nesting shorebird colonies, and wetlands, which is why these beaches are shown in the map below. The specific language outlining outdoor lighting in ESHA is found in CZO Section 8178-2.6.15. Please also see the brochure below summarizing the outdoor lighting restrictions for homes in or adjacent to ESHA. For homes that have replace their lighting after September 9, 2022 in the Santa Monica Mountains or that are in or adjacent to environmentally sensitive habitats, please refer to the brochure below for lighting requirements.
Map of Ventura County Coastal Zone and Potential or Known ESHA
Outdoor Lighting Regulations for the Non-Coastal Zone
Lighting restrictions that may apply to new and/or existing development within the non-coastal zone of the unincorporated County include the Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridor (HCWC) overlay, the Ojai Valley Dark Sky (DKS) overlay zone, and the Scenic Resource Protection (SRP) overlay. There are certain areas where more than one overlay zone overlaps with another and the lighting restriction that is the most protective applies. [Coming Soon!] For a chart that shows a comparison of the lighting restrictions across the different zones under these circumstances, please click here. If you wish to know what the zoning of your specific parcel is and cannot tell from the map below, you can also look it up here. The overlay zones are shown on the map below.
Map of Overlay Zones in the Non-Coastal Zone with Outdoor Lighting Regulations
Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone
The Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridor (HCWC) overlay zone with outdoor lighting regulations was adopted in the NCZO by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on March 19, 2019. The overlay’s purpose is to preserve functional connectivity for wildlife movement and native plant dispersal between large core natural protected areas (US Forests, National Parks, State Parks, etc.) within the unincorporated County. Specifically, the overlay requires development to “minimize the indirect impacts to wildlife created by outdoor lighting, such as disorientation of nocturnal species, and the disruption of mating, feeding, migrating, and the predator-prey balance (NCZO Sec. 8104-7.7(a)). To learn more on lighting impacts on wildlife, please click here.
The ordinance went into effect May 19th, 2019, and applies to both existing and new development and contains standards intended to minimize impacts of outdoor night lighting by regulating brightness, shielding, light direction, etc. The overlay regulates wildlife movement corridors such as vegetation around creeks and drainages and key road under crossings at those drainages likely to be used by wildlife.
To learn more information about the requirements of the Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridor overlay, please view the following webpages.
Map of the Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Overlay Zone with Outdoor Lighting Restrictions
Ojai Valley Dark Sky Overlay Zone
On September 25, 2018, the Board of Supervisors adopted amendments to the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance which added a new Ojai Valley Dark Sky overlay zone to the unincorporated areas within the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) boundary in the Ojai Valley, which includes unincorporated areas of the Ojai Valley, Mira Monte, Casitas Springs, Meiners Oaks, and Oak View.
The overlay is intended to protect visibility of the night sky and stars, while allowing a reasonable amount of outdoor lighting. The requirements for residential land use include specific dark hours and guidelines for essential lighting such as security and safety lighting.
No retrofits or replacements are required for existing lighting in residential, open space, agricultural or rural zones. Special requirements also apply to existing lighting in commercial and industrial zones. Please refer to the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance (NCZO Section 8109-4.7.2) to read the regulations or view the following webpages and the following educational brochures to learn more about the ordinance requirements:
- An interactive Story Map to learn more about the adopted ordinance.
- An Informational brochure, which includes a two-page summary of the adopted ordinance.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Dark Sky Technical Terms, an informational brochure about the lighting terminology used in the ordinance.
- Requirements for Existing Lighting.
A map of the area where the Ojai Valley Dark Sky overlay zone lighting restrictions apply can be found below.
Map of the Ojai Valley Dark Sky Overlay Zone (DKS)
Scenic Resource Protection Overlay Zone
The Ventura County Scenic Resources Protection (SRP) overlay zone was adopted September 9, 2008, in the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance (NCZO). The purposes of the SRP overlay zone relative to outdoor lighting restrictions is to preserve and protect the visual quality of the scenic viewshed, and to minimize conflicts from development with scenic resources (NCZO), Sec. 8104-7.1. On April 6, 2010, the Lake Sherwood area was added to the SRP overlay zone (NCZO, Sec. 8109-4.1.5).
The outdoor lighting requirements for the SRP overlay zone apply to discretionary development projects and require that all outdoor lighting minimize glare and illumination of adjacent properties and the night sky (NCZO, Sec. 8109-4.1.4). For a map of all SRP overlay zone areas in the County, please see the map below.
Adopted ordinance language can be referenced below:
Map of the Scenic Resource Protection (SRP) Overlay Zone with Outdoor Lighting Restrictions
