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Sea Turtle Lighting Rules for South Florida Beachfront Property

What the state model ordinance actually requires, why the nesting season starts on a different date depending on which side of a city line you are on, and what it means for the fixtures you are allowed to specify.

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Why beachfront lighting is regulated at all

Hatchling sea turtles find the ocean by crawling toward the brightest, lowest horizon. On an undeveloped beach that is the sky over the water. On a developed one it can be a pool deck, a parking lot, a balcony or an unshielded wall pack, and hatchlings that crawl the wrong way generally do not survive the trip.

That is the whole basis of the rules. They are not about how much light you use in absolute terms; they are about whether light is visible from the beach, what colour it is, and whether a fixture throws any part of its output above horizontal. A very bright fixture that cannot be seen from the sand is usually compliant. A dim one aimed the wrong way is not.

Florida sets a model ordinance at state level, and coastal municipalities adopt their own versions of it. The state model is the floor. The city ordinance is what you are actually inspected against, and it is frequently stricter.

The three rules every ordinance is built on

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reduces the whole subject to three words, and every local ordinance is a variation on them.

  • Keep it low. Mount the fixture as low as possible and use the lowest wattage or lumen output that does the job.
  • Keep it long. Use only long wavelength light: 560 nanometres or greater, which means amber, orange or red. The state rule defines this as emitting 560 nm or greater and absent wavelengths below 560 nm, which is stricter than simply looking amber.
  • Keep it shielded. The fixture must be completely downward directed, and the bulb, lamp or glowing lens must not be visible from the beach.

A fixture has to satisfy all three. Amber LED in an unshielded lantern fails. A perfectly shielded downlight with a 4000K source fails. This is the single most common reason a beachfront job gets red-tagged after the fixtures are already on site.

What the state model ordinance requires

The Model Lighting Ordinance for Marine Turtle Protection is Rule 62B-55, Florida Administrative Code, and the current model was adopted with an effective date of 17 December 2020. If you want to know what a coastal city ordinance is likely to say, read this first, because most of them are adopted from it more or less intact.

  • New construction. Lighting must be long wavelength, downward directed, full cutoff, fully shielded, and mounted as close to the ground or finished floor surface as possible (Sec. 3.2.1).
  • Fully shielded, defined. Glowing elements, lamps, globes or reflectors completely covered by an opaque material (Sec. 1.4). A louvre or a partial hood does not qualify.
  • Bollards. Not to exceed 42 inches in height (Sec. 3.3.2).
  • Pier and dock lighting. Mounted no higher than 42 inches above the deck surface (Sec. 3.8.2).
  • Temporary construction lighting. Less than eight feet above the adjacent floor or deck (Sec. 3.9.4.c).
  • Glazing. On new construction, all glass windows, walls, railings and doors on the seaward and shore-perpendicular sides require tinted glass with an inside-to-outside light transmittance of 45 percent or less (Sec. 3.2.5).
  • Existing lighting. Must be remediated by repositioning, replacing with long wavelength sources, adding directional fixtures or shielding, planting vegetation buffers, or removal (Sec. 3.7.1).
  • Events. Lighting for a special event is not authorised at night during nesting season (Sec. 3.9.1).

The glazing requirement catches people out. It is a lighting ordinance, but it regulates windows, because a lit interior behind untinted glass is a light source as far as a hatchling is concerned. On a beachfront tower the interior lighting scheme and the glass specification are part of the same compliance conversation.

Nesting season is not one date, and that matters

This is the detail that causes the most trouble on real projects, because people assume there is a single Florida nesting season. There is not. The dates are set jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and two buildings a few miles apart can be on different calendars.

  • Broward and Palm Beach counties. 1 March to 31 October, per the state model ordinance guidance.
  • Miami Beach. 1 April to 31 October, defined in Sec. 46-202 of its own ordinance. The city sets the earlier April start specifically to account for leatherback nesting.
  • Other coastal counties. 1 May to 31 October.

If you are scheduling a lighting installation, a facade relamp or an exterior renovation on a beachfront property, the season dates decide whether the work can happen at night at all, and whether temporary construction lighting is permitted. Confirm the date range with the municipality, not the county, and not with a general Florida source.

Miami Beach, as an example of how strict a city can be

Miami Beach strengthened its sea turtle ordinance in 2024, and it is a good illustration of how far a municipal version can go beyond the state model.

  • Low profile is 48 inches. A low-profile luminaire is defined as no higher than 48 inches off the ground (Sec. 46-202). Anything taller counts as pole lighting.
  • Visibility test is broad. Light must not be directly, indirectly or cumulatively visible from the beach (Sec. 46-203(c)(2)). Indirect and cumulative are doing a lot of work in that sentence: reflected light off a pale wall or pool deck counts.
  • Glazing is extensive. Tinted or filmed glass on all glass windows, walls, balconies, elevator shafts, stairwells, railings and glass doors facing the beach (Sec. 46-203(c)(8)). Elevator shafts and stairwells are the ones people forget, and they are usually lit all night.
  • Deadlines are real. Existing exterior lighting: six months to reposition or modify, one year for full measures. Existing interior lighting in hotels and commercial buildings: one year. Illuminated commercial signage: 18 months (Sec. 46-203).
  • Enforcement has teeth. Ten days to cure after notice, then a daily fine assessed continuously until the violation is corrected or the season ends, and removal costs can become a lien on the property (Sec. 46-204).

What this means when you are actually choosing fixtures

FWC runs a certification programme for wildlife lighting, reviewed with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and publishes a list of approved fixtures and bulbs. Products are listed by type, which maps closely onto how a lighting schedule is organised: wall fixtures, ceiling mounts, step lights, pole fixtures, roadway, walkway, bollards, bullet and tape, underwater, and bulbs listed separately.

Two things about that list are worth knowing before you rely on it. Approvals carry required options and bulleted caveats, so a model number can be certified only in a particular lamp, lens or shield configuration. And it is updated regularly, which means a list printed six months ago is not authoritative.

  • Specify the whole configuration. Certification usually attaches to a fixture plus a specific source and accessory, not to a catalogue family.
  • Watch the colour temperature trap. A warm 2700K white LED is still full spectrum. It is not long wavelength and it is not compliant.
  • Check the mounting height against the local definition. 42 inches under the state model, 48 inches in Miami Beach. The fixture does not change; the rule does.
  • Remember interiors. On a seaward elevation, interior lighting and glazing are part of the same compliance problem.

We are a lighting showroom, not a code consultant. We can tell you which of the lines we carry publish long wavelength and full cutoff products, get you the manufacturer documentation, and quote the compliant configuration. The determination of what your specific property must do is between your design team and the municipality.

New construction versus a retrofit

New construction is easier, because the rules are known before anything is mounted and the fixture schedule can be written to them from the start. Retrofits are where the cost sits, and the state model recognises that by allowing a range of remedies rather than demanding replacement: reposition, re-lamp to long wavelength, add a directional fixture or shield, plant a vegetation buffer, or remove the light entirely.

In practice the cheapest compliant answer on an existing building is usually a combination: relamp what can be relamped, shield what can be shielded, and replace only the fixtures where the housing itself throws light above horizontal and cannot be corrected. That is a survey exercise before it is a purchasing one.

Common questions about sea turtle lighting

What wavelength does turtle friendly lighting have to be?

560 nanometres or greater, which is amber, orange or red. The state model ordinance defines a long wavelength source as one emitting 560 nm or greater and absent wavelengths below 560 nm, so a warm white LED does not qualify no matter how low its colour temperature is.

When is sea turtle nesting season in South Florida?

It depends on the jurisdiction. Broward and Palm Beach counties run 1 March to 31 October. Miami Beach runs 1 April to 31 October under its own ordinance, set earlier to account for leatherback nesting. Other coastal counties run 1 May to 31 October. Confirm with the municipality, because the dates are set locally.

How high can a bollard be on a beachfront property?

Under the state model ordinance, bollards must not exceed 42 inches (Sec. 3.3.2), and pier lighting must be no higher than 42 inches above the deck. Miami Beach defines a low profile luminaire as no higher than 48 inches. Check the local ordinance, because the number changes.

Do the rules apply to windows as well as light fixtures?

Yes. The state model requires tinted glass with an inside-to-outside light transmittance of 45 percent or less on seaward and shore-perpendicular glass in new construction. Miami Beach extends that to balconies, elevator shafts, stairwells and railings. Interior light behind clear glass is treated as a light source.

Does an existing building have to replace all its exterior lighting?

Not necessarily. The state model allows remediation by repositioning, relamping to long wavelength, adding shielding or directional fixtures, planting vegetation buffers, or removal. Replacement is one option among several, and a survey usually finds that a mix is cheaper than a full replacement.

Can Brand Lighting supply certified turtle friendly fixtures?

We can quote long wavelength and full cutoff products from the lines we are authorized on, supply the manufacturer documentation your permit set needs, and price the specific configuration rather than a catalogue family. Send the drawings or the fixture schedule and tell us the municipality, because the requirement changes across city lines.

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