Sea Turtle Lighting Rules From Naples to Sanibel, Compared Code by Code

This comparison reflects each code as published on Municode when we read it on October 23, 2026. Codes change; confirm with your city or county before you install.

The row that applies follows the city or county line your lot sits in, and that isn't always the town on your mailing address. NightScapes' turtle lighting page puts the working rule plainly: "We read the section that applies before designing."

Two details in the table are easy to miss. Collier County's and Naples' codes never mention a lamp wavelength; their only nanometer figure is the 400 to 700 nanometer range used to measure window tint ^[1][2]. And Sanibel's uplighting ban sits in the city's general lighting standards, so it reaches lots nowhere near the Gulf ^[4].

Collier County's section applies "when development or lighting associated with development is located within 300 feet of coastal mean high water," and also when lit reflective surfaces will be visible from the beach ^[1]. The City of Naples uses the same 300 feet for new development, or any light or lit surface "that will be visible from the beach" ^[2]. For existing homes, both codes turn on visibility alone.

Marco Island draws the line by place. Its district is "all beachfront properties from Cape Marco to Hideaway Beach," and inside it the article "applies to all light visible from the beach" ^[6]. Bonita Springs reaches further back. Sec. 7-42 covers barrier island properties whose light is visible from the beach, "regardless of whether those properties are beachfront properties" ^[7]. The Bonita Springs guide shows what that means for homes that aren't on the sand.

Sanibel splits its reach in two: general standards for every new or replacement light in the city, and turtle sections for fixtures "within direct line of sight of the beach" ^[4]. Lee County's division covers the Gulf beaches of the unincorporated county ^[3].

"Visible" includes a lit wall, a lit window and a glowing pool, not just the fixture. As NightScapes' page on designing a beachfront property for nesting season puts it, "The only reliable way to know what the beach sees is to stand on it."

Not sure which row applies to your property? NightScapes has worked on coastal and beachfront properties in Naples since 2006 (Todd since 1998). Request a free estimate or call (239) 649-6940.

In Collier County and the City of Naples the hour is one of two choices. Collier's LDC 3.04.02 B.3.a says existing lights "shall be turned off after 9:00 p.m. between May 1 and October 31 of each year, or fitted with a hood or positioned" so they can't be seen from the beach ^[1]. Naples' Sec. 52-61(c)(1) reads the same way, but the window runs "between 9:00 p.m. and sunrise" ^[2]. Collier's text gives no end time.

Marco Island's Sec. 54-144 tells existing exterior lights in the district to go off after 9:00 p.m., but it exempts "turtle friendly long wavelength bulbs, low, and shielded light" ^[6]. Lee County builds the hours into its definition of the season: "from 9:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. during the period of May 1 through October 31" ^[3].

Bonita Springs ties its rule to the sun. Its code defines nighttime as "the locally effective time period between sunset and sunrise during nesting season" ^[7]. At Naples' coordinates, the U.S. Naval Observatory has the sun setting at 7:59 p.m. on May 1, 2026 and 8:22 p.m. on June 21, 2026 ^[10]. So a sunset rule starts 38 to 61 minutes before a 9:00 p.m. rule.

Sanibel's Division 4 has no clock time at all. It regulates which fixtures may be used and whether they light the beach, at any hour ^[4].

A timer set to "9 p.m."? Right in some rows, wrong in others. NightScapes puts the beach-visible fixtures on their own zone, "so for the season they can be switched off, dimmed or put on a schedule while the street side of the property stays exactly as it is." The page on zoning, dimming and color options shows how a zone can follow your code's hour.

A nanometer is a billionth of a meter; here it describes the color of a lamp's light. FWC's Sea Turtle Lighting page asks for lamps that "produce only long wavelength light (560 nm or greater, which is amber, orange, or red)" ^[11]. FWC's Wildlife Lighting criteria say "greater than 560 nm AND absent wavelengths below 560 nm" ^[12]. The City of Naples' web page says "> 560 nm" ^[9].

That disagreement only matters at exactly 560. A lamp whose light all sits above 560 meets every version. None of the six codes requires 590 or 620. Where you see a figure like that, it's a product color, not a code threshold.

The second half of the definition, nothing below 560, matters more. FWC's guidelines say "PC amber bulbs are not true long wavelength light sources, since there are wavelength readings below 560 nm" ^[13]. FWC's criteria add that "PC Ambers, RGBs, dual lighting boards, and color change options are not acceptable" ^[12]. Marco Island's code says lamps that reach long wavelength "using filters, gels, or lenses are not permitted" ^[6]. An amber setting on a color-changing fixture isn't the same thing.

Lee County's division dates from 1998, was last amended in 2005, and uses no nanometer figure. For new fixtures visible from the beach it names "25-watt yellow bug type bulbs" ^[3].

Ask for proof, not a label. FWC says you can request a "spectral distribution graph" from the manufacturer ^[13]. And amber isn't invisible to turtles. FWC calls that idea a "common misconception" and answers it: "This is FALSE" ^[13].

Sanibel's Sec. 126-997(c)(10) prohibits uplighting, and Sec. 126-997(e)(3) says existing uplighting "shall be strictly prohibited as of January 1, 2018" ^[4]. One exemption matters for gardens: "Landscaping and pathway lighting, three feet or less in height," as long as it doesn't project light skyward. In the Bay Beach, Gulf Beach and Gulf Beach Ridge zones that lighting must also meet the turtle standards, and adding or replacing outdoor lights there needs a development permit ^[4].

In Collier County and the City of Naples, where the beach section applies, the rule is one sentence: "Floodlights and landscape or accent lighting shall be prohibited" ^[1][2].

Marco Island lists "landscape lights, and up lights" as nonegress lighting and says "All nonegress outdoor lighting shall not be directly or indirectly visible from any portion of the beach" ^[6]. Its path lights may not exceed 42 inches. Bonita Springs caps bollards at 42 inches and requires all outdoor-area lighting to be long wavelength, downward directed, full cutoff and fully shielded. Its one exception is non-egress lighting landward of buildings, if it's long wavelength and "not directly, indirectly, or cumulatively visible from any portion of the beach" ^[7]. The Marco Island guide covers that city's district in more detail.

Lee County bars artificial lighting, "including, but not limited to, uplighting," seaward of the 1978 coastal construction control line for new development. Its guidelines say floodlights, up-lights and decorative lighting visible from nesting habitat "should not be used during the nesting season" ^[3].

FWC is blunt: "Decorative lights, such as uplights, string lights, or lights in trees, serve no purpose for human safety," and should stay off until the season ends October 31 ^[11]. For other night animals on the same coast, see wildlife-friendly lighting.

Marco Island's Sec. 54-149(3) says underwater pool or spa lighting must be mounted in the wall and "Not produce light that is directly or indirectly visible from any portion of the beach" ^[6]. Bonita Springs' Sec. 7-48 says the same, and adds that pool lighting "shall be long wavelength and fully shielded" ^[7]. Lee County's Sec. 14-76 requires "A colored or partially opaque lens" over pool and spa lights in new development ^[3].

In Sanibel's three beach zones, a pool light visible from the beach must meet the turtle rules ^[4]. FWC notes that pool lights "can be locked on an amber or red color during the marine turtle nesting season" ^[11]. Marco Island and Bonita Springs also say ponds and fountains on the seaward and shore-perpendicular sides of a building may not produce light visible from the beach ^[6][7].

Windows are in every code. All six use tinted glass with an inside-to-outside light transmittance of 45 percent or less, or measures such as shades, moving lamps away from windows and turning off unneeded lights ^{[1][2][3][4][6][7]}.

NightScapes' turtle lighting page says it directly: "Landscape fixtures are often not the main problem." On many beachfront homes, what the beach sees is the pool and lanai or the living room.

If a light throws your shadow on the sand, the beach can see it. Collier County Parks uses that test ^[8], and Lee County's Sec. 14-73 writes it into the code: a presumption of violation exists when "A shadow is created or cast by artificial lighting" on an object in nesting habitat during the season ^[3].

Marco Island's Sec. 54-155(3) says "Every two weeks, lighting compliance inspections shall be conducted by a code enforcement official during sea turtle nesting season" ^[6]. Bonita Springs sends notice of its rules at least 30 days before each season, and inspects new construction after dark before a certificate of occupancy ^[7]. Sanibel offers an optional certificate of luminaire compliance ^[4]. Naples' Sec. 52-61 names no inspection schedule, so check with the city.

Marco Island, Lee County and Bonita Springs send penalties to their general enforcement chapters ^[3][6][7]. Ask your city or county what applies.

How to check your property before May 1:

1. Find your row in the table: your city or county, and its section number.
2. After dark, stand on the beach and look back at the house. List every fixture you can see and every lit surface.
3. Mark each one against your row: off by the code's hour, shielded or repositioned, or replaced with a long wavelength source.
4. Check the pool, the lanai and the windows, not just the landscape lights.
5. Put beach-visible fixtures on their own zone or timer, set to your code's hours.
6. In Sanibel's beach zones, ask about the development permit before you add or replace a light.
7. Walk the beach again after the changes. If anything still casts a shadow, it isn't done.

Start with your code's section, not a summary. Then decide, fixture by fixture, whether it goes off, gets shielded or gets replaced.

NightScapes has worked on coastal and beachfront properties in Naples since 2006 (Todd since 1998), and outdoor lighting is all we do. We read the rule that applies to your address, walk the beach side with you, and tell you what we'd change. Call (239) 649-6940 or request a free estimate.