Loudoun County opens applications Monday for free streetlights on neighborhood streets. The county pays to install and run them. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.
Neighborhoods in Ashburn and across Loudoun County can ask the county for new streetlights starting Monday, Nov. 2. If a request is accepted, the county pays for the lights and keeps paying to run them.
The new Streetlight Program is for existing residential streets with no streetlights, or only a few. The county pays to design and install each light and covers the service and maintenance costs from then on, according to the county’s announcement. Dominion Energy or the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC), whichever serves the street, installs and owns the light.
The Board of Supervisors approved the program manual on Jan. 21, 2026.
Who can apply
The program is open to any neighborhood with two or more adjacent parcels. The applicant must live in the community where the light is wanted, and must name a co-applicant as a backup contact, according to the program page.
Eligible streets are local roads, minor collectors and neighborhood collectors, as classified in the county’s 2019 Countywide Transportation Plan. The county’s information session slides list what does not qualify:
- new developments, or areas being built or rezoned
- commercial areas
- major roads such as Loudoun County Parkway and Route 7
- a light that would serve only one home
- privately owned roads
Proof that the neighbors agree
Every application needs evidence of community support.
- In an HOA or neighborhood association: the application needs a letter of support from the board or neighborhood leadership.
- No HOA: the applicant collects signatures on the county’s community petition. It must come from two parcels on either side of the proposed light and across the street, or from neighbors within 250 feet.
An application can go in without the petition, but it is not complete until the petition arrives. If neighbors object later, the county says it is up to the applicant to resolve the objection and apply again.
How requests are ranked
The county expects more requests than it can pay for. The manual says “limited financial support is available,” so applications are scored and ranked. Each of the eight criteria below is worth one point, and safety earns one extra point, for a maximum of 9:
| Category | What is measured | Distance from the proposed light |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | Bicycle and pedestrian crashes | 250 feet |
| Safety | Night crashes | 250 feet |
| Amenities | Transit stops | a quarter mile |
| Amenities | Schools, parks, community centers and other activity centers | 1 mile |
| Roadway | Traffic on the nearest road | 125 feet |
| Roadway | Nearby crosswalks | 250 feet |
| Equity | Equity Emphasis Areas set by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments | a quarter mile |
| Equity | Environmental justice areas set by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality | a quarter mile |
The new lights must use fixtures from Dominion’s or NOVEC’s catalogs. The county lists “Dark Sky” compliance, which keeps light pointed down, among its goals.
What happens after you apply
The county’s slides set out this timeline:
- Nov. 1 to Dec. 31: the first application window. The county’s announcement and program page give Monday, Nov. 2, as the opening day.
- January 2027: county staff review the requests.
- Late January 2027: the county posts the requests under consideration and notifies the neighborhoods around them.
- March 2027: the ranked list goes to the Board of Supervisors.
- April 2027: the county asks the utility to authorize the work, and the utility schedules construction.
After this round, the county plans two 60-day windows a year, one in spring and one in fall.
What it means for you
- Dark street in your neighborhood? Talk to your HOA board or your neighbors now. The letter or petition is the step that takes the longest.
- Apply online at loudoun.gov/streetlights once the form goes live. The page has a short video on the application. Questions go to streetlights@loudoun.gov.
- Need the form in another format or language? The program page says to email the Department of General Services for an accommodation.
- Existing light out? This program is only for new lights. Report a broken NOVEC light with the NOVEC streetlight repair form. Our power outages page lists how to reach Dominion Energy and NOVEC.
The county held two information sessions on the program in October, one at the Cascades Library in Potomac Falls. Its slides from those sessions are posted on the program page.
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