Sahuarita regulates outdoor lighting with a lumen budget per net acre for the two most restrictive lighting areas only, because the whole town lies inside an observatory protection radius. 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 — all fixtures full cutoff (typical LED design) | Option 3 — full cutoff plus limited unshielded | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting area | Total lm/acre | Unshielded lm/acre | Total lm/acre | Unshielded lm/acre | Total lm/acre | Unshielded lm/acre |
| E1b | 48,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 | 0 | 12,500 | 2,700 |
| E1a | 18,000 | 0 | 12,500 | 0 | 12,500 | 0 |
- 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.
- All-residential zoning: total E1b 12,000 · E1a 12,000; unshielded E1b 2,700 · E1a 0 lm/acre.
- 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?
The whole town sits inside the Mt. Hopkins (Whipple Observatory) protection radius, so only the two most restrictive areas exist: E1b (25-mile Mt. Hopkins circle) and E1a.
Color temperature
Lamps over 3500K prohibited outdoors. Internally illuminated signs are limited to 4400K.
Curfews and controls
- Unshielded lighting OFF at 11:00 PM.
- Sign curfews: 11:00 PM commercial, 9:00 PM residential; illuminated signs prohibited in E1a.
Canopies
Canopy caps (lumens per ft²): E1b ≤55, E1a ≤30.
Signs
Internally illuminated signs ≤4400K (§501.3.2); prohibited in E1a. Unshielded fixtures ≤3,000 lumens per luminaire (§401.4). Internally illuminated signs are exempt from the lumen budget.
What the permit submittal must show
Lumen calculation and luminaire schedule on plans, per Sahuarita OLC Ch. 4.
The trap that catches out-of-town designers
The whole town sits inside the Mt. Hopkins (Whipple Observatory) protection radius, so the two permissive Tucson areas do not exist here: Sahuarita has only E1b (the 25-mile Mt. Hopkins circle) and E1a. On the all-full-cutoff option the budget is 25,000 lumens per acre in E1b and 12,500 in E1a — a fraction of what the same site would be allowed a few miles north in Tucson's E3 — and a design that leans on Option 3 for an unshielded allowance in E1b gives up half its total, dropping to 12,500 with 2,700 unshielded. In E1a there is no unshielded allowance and illuminated signs are prohibited outright. Lamps over 3500K are prohibited, unshielded lighting goes off at 11:00 PM, and canopy lighting is capped at 55 lumens per square foot in E1b and 30 in E1a.
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: Sahuarita OLC 2012, Table 401.1. 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 Sahuarita allow?
Under Sahuarita OLC 2012, Table 401.1, the Option 2 — all fixtures full cutoff (typical LED design) allows E1b 25,000 · E1a 12,500 lumens per net acre of developed site by lighting area. No unshielded lumens are allowed on that option. The code offers 3 options that trade total budget against source type or a limited unshielded allowance; the table on this page shows every one. All-residential zoning uses a separate table: E1b 12,000 · E1a 12,000 lumens per acre.
Why does Sahuarita have only lighting areas E1b and E1a?
The whole town sits inside the Mt. Hopkins (Whipple Observatory) protection radius, so only the two most restrictive areas exist: E1b (25-mile Mt. Hopkins circle) and E1a.
What color temperature is allowed in Sahuarita?
Lamps over 3500K prohibited outdoors. Internally illuminated signs are limited to 4400K.
Is there a lighting curfew in Sahuarita?
Unshielded lighting OFF at 11:00 PM. Sign curfews: 11:00 PM commercial, 9:00 PM residential; illuminated signs prohibited in E1a.