Glendale regulates outdoor lighting with property-line illuminance limits, pole heights near single-family homes and small per-fixture LED lumen caps for accent lighting. The at-a-glance table is the code’s own table, reproduced; everything after it is the rule text that changes a design.
At a glance: every transcribed requirement
| Rule | Status | What the code says |
|---|---|---|
gl-fc | Required | Illumination at the property line: max 1.0 fc for non-residential properties, 0.5 fc for residential (UDC §35.4.404(8)–(9)). |
gl-shield | Required | HPS, metal halide, fluorescent, tungsten/halogen, incandescent, and mercury-vapor fixtures must be FULLY shielded; filters on metal halide, fluorescent, and mercury vapor. Sign-lighting fluorescents top-mounted and partially shielded (Ch. 26.5-5). Exemptions: LPS, incandescent ≤150 W / other sources ≤70 W, internally illuminated translucent signs. |
gl-height | Required | Parking-lot poles max 25 ft — dropping to 15–16 ft near single-family residential (within 30 ft per §35.4.404, within 100 ft per §35.4.003(N) — the code carries both; use the stricter read). All fixtures within 30 ft of single-family must be shielded. Parking lots must be ILLUMINATED sunset to sunrise. |
gl-lumens | Required | LED lumen caps: building entrances/outdoor seating ≤120 lm; landscape/façade uplighting (only allowed 100+ ft from residential) ≤80 lm; flag uplighting ≤500 lm; temporary holiday lighting ≤200 lm (UDC §35.4.404, .406). |
gl-curfew | Required | No shielded fixture may be aimed upward; searchlights need a permit and are banned 11:00 PM–sunrise; recreational facilities dark by 11:00 PM except to finish an event; digital billboards off 11:00 PM–sunrise with ≤1.0 fc at adjacent property lines. |
How much the code actually pins down
The trap that catches out-of-town designers
Glendale runs in two directions at once. Parking lots must be illuminated from sunset to sunrise — the opposite of the curfews to the south — while the property line is held to 1.0 fc for non-residential property and 0.5 fc for residential (UDC §35.4.404(8)–(9)). Its LED lumen caps are small enough to catch a specification: building entrances and outdoor seating 120 lumens, landscape and façade uplighting 80 lumens and only allowed 100 ft or more from residential, flag uplighting 500 lumens, temporary holiday lighting 200 lumens. Parking-lot poles are 25 ft, dropping to 15–16 ft near single-family — the code carries both a 30 ft trigger (§35.4.404) and a 100 ft trigger (§35.4.003(N)); use the stricter read — and all fixtures within 30 ft of single-family must be shielded. HPS, metal halide, fluorescent, halogen, incandescent and mercury vapor must be fully shielded, with filters on metal halide, fluorescent and mercury vapor.
Underneath every city code: the state statute
- Arizona statute: every outdoor light fixture must be fully or partially shielded unless it is an incandescent lamp of 150 W or less, or any other lamp of 70 W or less (ARS §49-1102).
- Mercury-vapor fixtures may not be sold or installed anywhere in Arizona (ARS §49-1104).
The statute is the floor; the city or town ordinance above is what the permit is reviewed against. Where the two differ, the stricter applies.
Source, date and limits
Source: Glendale Code Ch. 26.5; UDC §35.4.400 (through Ord. O26-19 — UDC governs on conflict). Transcribed and verified: August 8, 2026, from the code text itself, never a summary site. Page updated: 5 September 2026. Status: current as of the verification date.
These pages render the same data file that drives our Lighting Design Tool, so a value here is the value the tool checks a design against. They are a reference, not a code book and not legal advice: the adopted ordinance, its amendments and the reviewer’s interpretation govern. Confirm with the authority having jurisdiction before you submit. IES illuminance targets and IECC power allowances are licensed-standard material and are not reproduced here.
Questions people ask
Does Glendale have a lumens-per-acre budget?
No. Glendale does not set a lumens-per-acre budget the way the dark-sky codes of southern and northern Arizona do; it regulates outdoor lighting through property-line illuminance limits, pole heights near single-family homes and small per-fixture LED lumen caps for accent lighting. The first requirement in Glendale Code Ch. 26.5; UDC §35.4.400 (through Ord. O26-19 — UDC governs on conflict): Illumination at the property line: max 1.0 fc for non-residential properties, 0.5 fc for residential (UDC §35.4.404(8)–(9)).
What is the property-line illuminance limit in Glendale?
Illumination at the property line: max 1.0 fc for non-residential properties, 0.5 fc for residential (UDC §35.4.404(8)–(9)).
Do parking lots in Glendale have to stay lit all night?
Parking-lot poles max 25 ft — dropping to 15–16 ft near single-family residential (within 30 ft per §35.4.404, within 100 ft per §35.4.003(N) — the code carries both; use the stricter read). All fixtures within 30 ft of single-family must be shielded. Parking lots must be ILLUMINATED sunset to sunrise.
What are Glendale's LED lumen caps for accent lighting?
LED lumen caps: building entrances/outdoor seating ≤120 lm; landscape/façade uplighting (only allowed 100+ ft from residential) ≤80 lm; flag uplighting ≤500 lm; temporary holiday lighting ≤200 lm (UDC §35.4.404, .406).