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Neighborhood-friendly lighting: Model guidance for Homeowners Associations (HOAs)

 Credit: Banko Creative Studio

Homeowners associations (HOAs) play an important role in establishing community standards and expectations related to the use of private property. Through covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs), HOAs create binding rules that help define the character, appearance, and quality of life of residential communities.

Many U.S. HOAs do not include outdoor lighting requirements in their CC&Rs. Those that do often limit restrictions to preventing light trespass, the condition in which light originating on one property is received on another. However, there is often little practical guidance available to homeowners on how to effectively address outdoor lighting issues.

To support communities seeking practical and effective outdoor lighting standards, DarkSky has developed model guidance for use by homeowners associations throughout the United States. To ensure adaptability to local legal requirements, this guidance is less prescriptive than DarkSky’s code templates for communities. Instead, it is rooted in the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting, developed jointly by DarkSky and the Illuminating Engineering Society in 2020, and is designed to provide a practical and flexible framework for neighborhood covenants and community standards.

The Five Principles for HOA lighting standards

The Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting underpin all of DarkSky’s lighting programs and initiatives and should serve as the foundation for any HOA outdoor lighting covenants or community standards.

DarkSky recommends that HOA lighting standards encourage homeowners to:

  • Useful — Use light only if it is needed.
  • Targeted — Direct light only where it is needed.
  • Low level — Use no more light than necessary.
  • Controlled — Use light only when it is needed through the use of timers, motion sensors, dimmers, or other controls.
  • Warm-colored — Use warmer-colored light whenever possible.

Rather than relying on technical requirements, the Five Principles provide communities with a practical, flexible, and understandable framework that can be adapted to local conditions and homeowner needs.

Creating neighbor-friendly outdoor lighting

The recommendations in this guidance reflect the best of our knowledge about how to limit the impacts of outdoor lighting while reasonably accommodating the rights and needs of property owners. The result is what DarkSky calls neighbor-friendly outdoor lighting: lighting practices that reduce disputes between neighbors and help prevent nuisance conditions before they arise.

Clear and understandable rules are among the most effective tools available to communities seeking to reduce light pollution while preserving quality of life.

Responsible lighting and community safety

Responsible outdoor lighting does not require communities to compromise safety or security. The Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting encourage using light only where it is needed, when it is needed, and in the appropriate amount, while minimizing unnecessary light and glare.

Properly directed and shielded lighting can improve visual comfort and nighttime visibility by reducing glare, which can impair visual acuity and make it more difficult to see people, objects, and potential hazards. By placing light where it is most effective, communities can enhance safety and quality of life while reducing energy waste and light pollution.

Explore additional resources on outdoor lighting and community safety in the DarkSky resource library.

New developments

New housing developments provide an important opportunity to establish responsible outdoor lighting practices from the outset. DarkSky recommends that advocates:

  • Contact land developers to learn about the process by which HOAs will be established;
  • Encourage prospective homeowners to support responsible lighting standards during HOA formation; and
  • Work with developer associations to promote responsible outdoor lighting as a standard community practice.

Existing communities

Because CC&Rs often establish procedures for implementing changes to community standards, opportunities may exist to introduce responsible outdoor lighting practices in existing developments. DarkSky recommends that advocates:

  • Recruit property owners willing to bring lighting issues before HOA boards;
  • Encourage consideration of model lighting language; and
  • Learn how CC&Rs are amended and how proposed changes are evaluated.

Legal considerations

HOA authority, governance structures, and amendment procedures vary by state and community. Before pursuing changes to outdoor lighting standards, advocates should familiarize themselves with applicable laws governing the formation and operation of HOAs.

Public outdoor lighting regulations, including municipal and county ordinances, may apply regardless of what HOA governing documents require. While DarkSky has not encountered situations in which local law prohibits HOAs from adopting outdoor lighting standards, advocates should confirm that proposed changes are permitted before pursuing them.

Summary

Responsible outdoor lighting standards can help communities protect the nighttime environment while respecting the rights and needs of property owners. By establishing clear, practical, and neighbor-friendly expectations, HOAs can play an important role in reducing light pollution, improving community livability, and preserving access to the night sky.

Model Homeowners Association Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (2020) (PDF)