Anna would start enforcing the outdoor lighting rules in its zoning code right away, while it applies for recognition from the International Dark Sky Association, under a resolution on the City Council's consent agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The resolution, presented by Development Services Director Kaleb Kentner, lays out why the city needs the certification. It says Section 3000.002 of the Texas Government Code bars cities from regulating outdoor lighting more strictly than national building codes, but makes an exception for lighting rules aimed at light pollution in cities certified by the association.
It directs staff to submit the application and pay the fees, and to "begin enforcement" of the city's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, No. 1233-2026-09, while certification is pending. The resolution also finds the ordinance is no stricter than the association requires.
What the lighting rules say
The outdoor lighting section, attached to the item in a zoning code amendment dated Sept. 22, applies to new construction and additions. Existing fixtures on a property must be brought into line when an addition grows a building by 25% or more, with 180 days from the permit to finish.
If a building with nonconforming lights sits vacant for six months, the owner has 90 days to swap them out.
Among the standards:
- Outdoor fixtures are capped at a color temperature of 3,000 K, with exceptions for public safety and for non-white decorative lighting.
- The city is split into four lighting zones tied to zoning districts, from agricultural and large-lot homes (E1) to downtown and industrial land (E4), each with its own limits on total light per acre.
- A single-family home may use up to 5,500 lumens in total, or more on larger lots under the per-acre table. Flood and spot lights must be aimed no higher than 25 degrees from straight down when a neighbor or a road can see the bulb.
- Seasonal decorations put up between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15 do not count against the limits.
- Decorative lighting on nonresidential property must be off from 11 p.m., or closing time if later, until sunrise.
- Lit ballfields and courts must schedule events to end by a curfew that ranges from 8 p.m. in E1 to 11 p.m. in E4.
