SOMERSET — Building Inspector Joseph Lawrence said yesterday that Home Depot is apparently complying with the requirement that the store turn off most of its outdoor lighting by 11 p.m. on weeknights and 8 p.m. on Sundays.

That restriction, that the lights be off one hour after closing, was set in 2000 by the Zoning Board of Appeals when the home improvement giant got permission to build its $3.2-million store just off the G.A.R. Highway.

Lawrence said the police have spot-checked the store at least four times between 11 p.m. and midnight and found that the parking lot lights had been turned off, except one light for security. The lights are controlled from company headquarters in Atlanta.

Neighbors have complained about the garish yellow glare of the lights and alleged that they have lit up the neighborhood east of the store throughout the night since it opened in July 2001.

Lawrence said there are employees in the store overnight to restock it but technically, at that time, the store isn’t open, so having lights on inside is not a violation.

Home Depot is putting up additional fencing along its eastern boundary to try to screen some of the lights from the vehicles that leave the store.