[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Old Brookville. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Good outdoor lighting at night benefits everyone. It increases safety,
enhances the Village's nighttime character, and helps provide
security. New lighting technologies have produced lights that are
extremely powerful, and these types of lights may be improperly installed
so that they create problems of excessive glare, light trespass, and
higher energy use. Excessive glare can be annoying and may cause safety
problems. Light trespass reduces everyone's privacy, and higher
energy use results in increased costs for everyone. There is a need
for a lighting ordinance that recognizes the benefits of outdoor lighting
and provides clear guidelines for its installation so as to help maintain
and complement the Village's character. Appropriately regulated,
and properly installed, outdoor lighting will contribute to the safety
and welfare of the residents of the Village.
B.
This chapter is intended to reduce the problems created by improperly
designed and installed outdoor lighting. It is intended to eliminate
problems of glare, minimize light trespass, and help reduce the energy
and financial costs of outdoor lighting by establishing regulations
which limit the area that certain kinds of outdoor-lighting fixtures
can illuminate and by limiting the total allowable illumination of
lots located in the Village of Old Brookville. All business, residential,
and community driveway, sidewalk, and property luminaires should be
installed with the idea of being a "good neighbor," with attempts
to keep unnecessary direct light from shining onto abutting properties
or streets.
For the purposes of this chapter, terms used shall be defined
as follows:
Light emitted directly from the lamp, off of the reflector
or reflector diffuser, or through the refractor or diffuser lens of
a luminaire.
The assembly that houses the lamp or lamps and can include
all or some of the following parts: a housing, a mounting bracket
or pole socket, a lamp holder, a ballast, a reflector or mirror, and/or
a refractor or lens.
Any light fixture or lamp that incorporates a reflector or
a refractor to concentrate the light output into a directed beam in
a particular direction.
Outdoor light fixtures shielded or constructed so that all
light rays are emitted below 60° from the horizontal plane as
certified by a photometric test report.
Unwanted light emitting from a luminaire with an intensity
great enough to reduce a viewer's ability to see, and in extreme
cases, causing momentary blindness.
The height of a luminaire shall be the vertical distance
from the lowest point of the ground directly below and within 10 feet
of the center line of the luminaire to the highest direct-light-emitting
part of the luminaire.
Direct light that has been reflected or has scattered off
of other surfaces.
The component of a luminaire that produces the actual light.
The shining of light produced by a luminaire above a specified
limit and/or beyond the boundaries of the property on which it is
located.
A unit of luminous flux, or light energy output. One footcandle
is one lumen per square foot. For the purposes of this chapter, the
lumen output values shall be the initial lumen output ratings of a
lamp.
This is a complete lighting system, and includes a lamp or
lamps and a fixture.
The nighttime illumination of an outside area or object by
any man-made device located outdoors that produces light by any means.
The specific illumination of an outside area of object by
any man-made device located outdoors that produces light by any means
for a period of less than seven days, with at least 180 days passing
before being used again.
No person, firm or corporation, their agents, servants or employees,
shall install, operate, use or maintain on any residential property
in the Village any exterior lighting which is not in compliance with
this chapter.
All exterior lighting shall be installed, arranged, placed,
oriented, used and operated with the required lumen output, reflector,
and screening to ensure that:
A.
The light emitted will not be directed at or towards an adjoining
property or residence on an adjoining property. Any luminaire with
a lamp or lamps rated at a total of 1,200 or more lumens shall be
a fully shielded luminaire.
B.
Any luminaire with a lamp or lamps rated more than 1,200 lumens shall
be a fully shielded luminaire and may not be aimed, directed, or focused
such as to cause light from the luminaire to be directed toward residential
buildings on adjacent or nearby land or foliage, or to create glare
perceptible to persons operating motor vehicles on public ways. Examples
of fully shielded luminaires are shown for illustration purposes only
in the diagram included as an attachment to this chapter.
C.
Any light source will be oriented, hooded and shielded to the degree
necessary and equipped with the minimum wattage so that the glare
from the light source will not cause light trespass as defined in
this chapter. For the purposes of this chapter, light trespass shall
be limited to 0.05 footcandle at any point on another property measured
in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
D.
Any luminaire with a lamp or lamps shall be mounted no higher than
three feet + (D/3) feet, where D is the distance in feet to the nearest
property boundary. The maximum height of any luminaire may not exceed
15 feet.[1]
E.
Lighting controlled by motion detectors shall turn off within 10
minutes after activation.
F.
No single item or cluster of exterior lighting exceeding 3,000 lumens
shall be located within 20 feet of another item or cluster of exterior
lighting.
G.
No single item or cluster of exterior lighting shall exceed 3,000
lumens output.
H.
The total exterior lighting installation for a property, other than
underwater swimming pool lighting shall be limited to 10,000 lumens
plus, pro rata, 10,000 lumens per acre up to three acres, plus 5,000
lumens/acre above three acres. No more than 25% of the allowable exterior
lighting limits may be in the form of allowable non-hooded luminaires.
I.
No flashing, laser or neon lights shall be permitted. Holiday lighting,
comprised of string lighting and other low-level illuminated articles,
shall be permitted only during the traditional fall/winter holiday
period.
J.
Lighting within a public right-of-way or easement for the principal
purpose of illuminating roads and highways shall be exempt from the
restrictions of this chapter.
K.
Exterior lighting used to illuminate a tennis court or other recreational
court is prohibited.
A.
Exterior lighting used to illuminate a residential driveway, walkway
or path shall only be permitted when absolutely necessary to provide
safe access to, from or within a property. Each luminaire for this
purpose shall be mounted only along the margins of the driveway, path
or walkway, mounted no higher than 18 inches from the grade at its
base, located no farther than 24 inches from each margin and spaced
at intervals of no less than 20 feet. The total lamp rating for each
such luminaire shall be limited to 500 lumens.[1]
A.
Any temporary outdoor lighting that conforms to the requirements
of this chapter shall be allowed. Nonconforming temporary outdoor
lighting may be permitted by the Board of Trustees after considering:
B.
The applicant shall submit a detailed description of the proposed
temporary nonconforming lighting to the Board of Trustees, who shall
consider the request at a duly called meeting of the Board of Trustees.
The Board shall render its decision on the temporary lighting request
within 31 days of the date of the meeting. A failure by the Board
to act on a request within the time allowed shall constitute a denial
of the request.
A.
Any commercial lighting that conforms to this chapter shall qualify
to be considered a permitted use. All sections of this chapter apply
to commercial zones with the exception of, and including the specific
regulations of this section.
B.
All applications for commercial exterior lighting shall include an
illumination map showing the designed illumination levels at intervals
of 10 feet or less for all points greater than 0.05 footcandle.
C.
The following limits of illumination apply to all commercial lighting,
measured in footcandles in a horizontal or any vertical plane nearest
the area so constrained:
|
Task Area
|
Average
(not to exceed)
|
Maximum
(at any point)
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Active building entrance approach
|
2.0 fc
|
5 fc
| |
|
Gas station approach
|
2 fc
| ||
|
Gas station pump area
|
5 fc
|
10 fc
| |
|
Sidewalks
|
0.5 fc
|
5 fc
| |
|
Surface of signs (measured at the face)
|
2 fc
| ||
|
Parking lots
|
0.8 fc
|
10 fc
| |
|
Light trespass on adjacent commercial properties
|
1 fc
| ||
|
Light trespass on any residentially zoned property
|
0.05 fc
|
D.
The maximum total lumens for any commercially zoned property shall
be less than 55,000 lumens per acre, prorated.
A.
Any exterior lighting existing on the effective date of this chapter
which is not in compliance with this chapter shall be removed, relocated
or altered so as to be brought into compliance with the provisions
hereof within one year of enactment of this chapter.
B.
The Board of Trustees may permit any preexisting nonconforming lighting
to continue for a limited time beyond that time period provided for
in this section, provided that:
(1)
An application is made by the owner of the property to the Board
of Trustees at least 120 days prior to the date on which such lighting
must be removed, relocated or altered;
(2)
The Board of Trustees shall find, in connection with such preexisting
nonconforming lighting, that an unnecessary hardship has been created.
In order to prove the unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate
to the Board of Trustees that:
(3)
The period for which such lighting may be permitted to continue is
the minimum period sufficient for the applicant to realize a substantial
return on such financial expenditures.
C.
For purposes of this section, "financial expenditures" shall mean
the capital outlay made by the applicant to purchase and/or install
the lighting, exclusive of the fair market value of the building or
structures to which the lighting is attached and exclusive of any
improvements unrelated to the preexisting nonconforming lighting.
