Marana regulates outdoor lighting with a lumen budget per net acre for two lighting areas, pole heights tied to the size of the site, and a vertical-footcandle trespass limit. 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: lumen budget per net acre
| Option 1 — mostly low-pressure sodium (legacy) | Option 2 — mostly non-LPS (typical LED design) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting area | Total lm/acre | Non-cutoff shielded lm/acre | Total lm/acre | Non-cutoff shielded lm/acre |
| E3 | 450,000 | 12,000 | 300,000 | 12,000 |
| E2 | 200,000 | 6,000 | 65,000 | 6,000 |
- Option 1 — mostly low-pressure sodium (legacy): LPS-majority path with sub-caps on non-LPS and non-cutoff portions.
- Option 1 — mostly low-pressure sodium (legacy) — Non-LPS full-cutoff portion is capped at E3 45,000 · E2 18,000 lm/acre.
- Option 1 — mostly low-pressure sodium (legacy) is a low-pressure-sodium path; it is listed because the code lists it, not because an LED design can use it.
- Option 2 — mostly non-LPS (typical LED design): Standard path for LED designs. Non-cutoff SHIELDED fixtures are allowed up to the sub-limit below, ≤3,000 mean lumens each (Table 401.1 note 5) — Marana has no category for fully unshielded fixtures.
- All-residential zoning: total E3 55,000 · E2 24,000; non-cutoff shielded E3 12,000 · E2 6,000 lm/acre. +50% when ≥75% of lumens are low-pressure sodium.
- n/a means the adopted table has no value for that area and option — the option is not available there, or it was not transcribed; the Lighting Design Tool refuses to compute a budget from it. 0 is a real zero allowance.
The limits behind the table
Which lighting area is the site in?
E3 = urban/commercial Marana · E2 = rural/agricultural. A third area, C (conservation), allows only public-safety lighting by special permit — not designable in this tool.
Shielding and light trespass
Light trespass onto residential property limited to 0.3 fc vertical measured at 5 ft; external shields required within 150 ft (or 10× mounting height) of residential.
Pole heights
- Sites over 25 acres: poles ≤42 ft
- Sites 6–25 acres: poles ≤30 ft
- Sites under 6 acres — and any pole within 150 ft of residential: ≤20 ft
Color temperature
Marana's OLC predates LED CCT limits — no color-temperature cap in the code. Dark-sky best practice (and neighboring jurisdictions) is ≤3000K.
Curfews and controls
- Sign curfews: off at midnight in E3, 11:00 PM in E2.
Signs
LED/electronic signs limited to 280 cd/m² (nits). Internally illuminated signs are exempt from the lumen budget.
What the permit submittal must show
Lumen-per-acre calculation and luminaire schedule on plans, per Marana OLC Ch. 4.
The trap that catches out-of-town designers
Marana reads like Tucson's code but it is not Tucson's code. There is no color-temperature cap at all — the ordinance predates LED CCT limits — so a reviewer will not stop a cool-white fixture, but the neighbouring jurisdictions and dark-sky practice will, and the totals are different: 300,000 lumens per acre in E3 and 65,000 in E2 on the non-LPS option. Marana has no category for a fully unshielded fixture; the 12,000 (E3) and 6,000 (E2) allowances are for non-cutoff shielded fixtures at 3,000 mean lumens each. Pole height follows the size of the site: 42 ft over 25 acres, 30 ft from 6 to 25 acres, 20 ft under 6 acres — and any pole within 150 ft of residential is 20 ft regardless. Trespass onto residential is 0.3 fc vertical at 5 ft, with external shields required within 150 ft or ten mounting heights.
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: Marana OLC Table 401.1 (2021 readoption, Ord. 2021.007). 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
How many lumens per acre does Marana allow?
Under Marana OLC Table 401.1 (2021 readoption, Ord. 2021.007), the Option 2 — mostly non-LPS (typical LED design) allows E3 300,000 · E2 65,000 lumens per net acre of developed site by lighting area. Of that, non-cutoff shielded fixtures (Marana has no category for fully unshielded fixtures) may account for at most E3 12,000 · E2 6,000 lumens per acre. The code offers 2 options that trade total budget against source type or a limited non-cutoff shielded allowance; the table on this page shows every one. All-residential zoning uses a separate table: E3 55,000 · E2 24,000 lumens per acre.
Does Marana limit the color temperature of outdoor lighting?
Marana's OLC predates LED CCT limits — no color-temperature cap in the code. Dark-sky best practice (and neighboring jurisdictions) is ≤3000K.
How tall can light poles be in Marana?
Sites over 25 acres: poles ≤42 ft; Sites 6–25 acres: poles ≤30 ft; Sites under 6 acres — and any pole within 150 ft of residential: ≤20 ft. Light trespass onto residential property limited to 0.3 fc vertical measured at 5 ft; external shields required within 150 ft (or 10× mounting height) of residential.
What is the light-trespass limit in Marana?
Light trespass onto residential property limited to 0.3 fc vertical measured at 5 ft; external shields required within 150 ft (or 10× mounting height) of residential.