A.
Applicability.
(1)
All uses within the Township where there is lighting that creates
a nuisance or hazard as viewed from outside, including, but not limited
to, residential, commercial, industrial, public/semipublic and institutional
uses, and sign, billboard, architectural and landscape lighting must
comply with the requirements of this article.
(2)
Temporary seasonal decorative lighting and emergency lighting
are exempt from all but the glare-control requirements of this article.
(3)
Emergency lighting, as may be required by any public agency
while engaged in the performance of its duties, is exempt from the
requirements of this article.
B.
Criteria.
(1)
Illumination levels. Lighting, where required by this article,
or otherwise required or allowed by the Township, shall have intensities,
uniformities and glare control in accordance with the recommended
practices of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
(IESNA), unless otherwise directed by the Township.
(2)
Lighting fixture design.
(a)
Fixtures shall be of a type and design appropriate to the lighting
application.
(b)
For the lighting of predominantly horizontal surfaces such as,
but not limited to parking areas, roadways, vehicular and pedestrian
passage areas, merchandising and storage areas, automotive-fuel dispensing
facilities, automotive sales areas, loading docks, culs-de-sac, active
and passive recreational areas, building entrances, sidewalks, bicycle
and pedestrian paths, and site entrances, fixtures shall be aimed
straight down and shall meet IESNA full-cutoff criteria. Fixtures
mounted on poles 12 feet and under shall meet IESNA cutoff criteria.
Fixtures, except those containing directional lamps, with an aggregate-rated
lamp output not exceeding 1,000 lumens, e.g., the rated output of
a standard nondirectional sixty-watt incandescent lamp, are exempt
from the requirements of this subsection.
(c)
For the lighting of predominantly nonhorizontal surfaces such
as, but not limited to, facades, landscaping, signs, billboards, fountains,
displays and statuary, fixtures shall be fully shielded and shall
be installed and aimed so as to not project their output into the
windows of structures on adjacent lots, past the object being illuminated,
skyward or onto a public roadway. Fixtures, except those containing
directional lamps, with an aggregate-rated lamp output not exceeding
1,000 lumens, e.g., the rated output of a standard nondirectional
sixty-watt incandescent lamp, are exempt from this article.
(d)
"Barn lights," also known as "dusk-to-dawn lights," where visible
from another property, shall not be permitted unless fully shielded
as viewed from that property.
(3)
Control of glare.
(a)
All lighting shall be aimed, located, designed, fitted and maintained
so as not to present a hazard to drivers or pedestrians by impairing
their ability to safely traverse and so as not to create a nuisance
by projecting or reflecting objectionable light onto an adjacent use
or property.
(b)
Directional fixtures such as floodlights and spotlights shall
be so shielded, installed and aimed that they do not project their
output into the windows of structures on adjacent lots, past the object
being illuminated, skyward or onto a public roadway or pedestrian
way.
(c)
Parking facility and vehicular and pedestrian-way lighting (except
for safety and security applications and all-night business operations),
for commercial, industrial, and institutional uses shall be automatically
extinguished no later than 1/2 hour after the close of business or
facility operation. When safety or security lighting is proposed for
after-hours illumination, it shall not be in excess of 25% of the
number of fixtures or illumination level required or permitted for
illumination during regular business hours.
(d)
Illumination of signs, billboards, building facades and/or surrounding
landscapes is prohibited between 11:00 p.m. and dawn, except that
such lighting situated on the premises for a commercial or industrial
establishment may remain illuminated while the establishment is actually
open for business, and until 1/2 hour after closing.
(e)
Vegetation screens shall not be employed to serve as the primary
means for controlling glare. Rather, glare control shall be achieved
primarily through the use of such means as cutoff fixtures, shields
and baffles, and appropriate application of fixture mounting height,
wattage, aiming angle and fixture placement.
(f)
The illumination projected from any use onto a residential use
shall at no time exceed 0.1 footcandle, measured line-of-sight from
any point on the receiving residential property.
(g)
The illumination projected from any property onto a nonresidential
use shall at no time exceed 1.0 footcandle, measured line-of-sight
from any point on the receiving property.
(h)
Externally illuminated billboards and signs shall be lighted
by fixtures mounted at the top of the billboard or sign and aimed
downward. The fixtures shall be designed, fitted and aimed to shield
the source from off-site view and to place the light output onto and
not beyond the sign or billboard. At no point on the face of the sign
or billboard and at no time shall the illumination exceed 30 vertical
footcandles.
(i)
Except as permitted for certain recreational lighting, fixtures
not meeting IESNA full-cutoff criteria shall not be mounted in excess
of 16 feet above finished grade. Fixtures meeting IESNA full-cutoff
criteria shall not be mounted in excess of 20 feet above finished
grade.
(j)
Only the flag of the United States of America and the flag of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be permitted to be illuminated
from dusk until dawn. All other flags shall not be illuminated past
11:00 p.m. Flag-lighting sources shall not exceed 7,000 lamp lumens
per flagpole. The light source shall have a beam spread no greater
than necessary to illuminate the flag and shall be fully shielded.
(k)
Under-canopy lighting for such applications as gas/service stations,
hotel/theater marquees, fast-food/bank/drugstore drive-ups, shall
be accomplished using flat-lens full-cutoff fixtures aimed straight
down and shielded in such a manner that the lowest opaque edge of
the fixture shall be below the light source at all lateral angles.
The average illumination in the area directly below the canopy shall
not exceed 20 initial footcandles, and the maximum shall not exceed
30 initial footcandles.
(4)
Installation.
(a)
Electrical feeds for lighting standards shall be run underground,
not overhead.
(b)
Poles supporting lighting fixtures for the illumination of parking
areas and located directly behind parking spaces, or where they could
be hit by snowplows, shall be placed a minimum of five feet outside
the paved area or tire stops, or placed on concrete pedestals at least
30 inches high above the pavement, or suitably protected by other
municipality-approved means.
(c)
Pole-mounted fixtures for lighting horizontal tasks shall be
aimed straight down, and poles shall be plumb.
(5)
Maintenance. Lighting fixtures and ancillary equipment shall
be maintained so as to always meet the requirements of this chapter.
C.
Lighting plan submission. Lighting plans shall be submitted for zoning permit, building permit, certificate of use and occupancy, variance, conditional use and special exception applications for review and approval, in accordance with the plan-submission information requirements in accordance with Chapter 235, Subdivision and Land Development.
D.
Compliance monitoring.
(1)
Safety hazards. If the Township Zoning Officer judges that a lighting installation creates a safety hazard, the person(s) responsible for the lighting shall be notified and required to take remedial action pursuant to § 270-223, Enforcement, of this chapter.
(2)
Nuisance glare and inadequate illumination levels.
(a)
When the Township Zoning Officer judges that an installation
produces unacceptable levels of nuisance glare, skyward light, excessive
or insufficient illumination levels or otherwise varies from this
chapter, the Township Zoning Officer may cause notification of the
person(s) responsible for the lighting and require appropriate remedial
action.
E.
Nonconforming lighting. Any lighting fixture or lighting installation
existing on the effective date of this chapter that does not conform
with the requirements of this article and section shall be considered
a lawful nonconformance. A nonconforming lighting fixture or lighting
installation shall be made to conform to the requirements of this
chapter when:
