[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Clinton 4-12-2011 by Ord. No.
2011-01. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Clinton Township
Outdoor Lighting Ordinance."
C.
This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
The following terms shall bear the following meanings when used
in this chapter.
The illumination on a surface one square foot in area on
which there is uniformly distributed a light lux of one lumen. A lumen
is a unit of measurement of the quantity of light. One lumen is the
amount of light which falls on an area of one square foot every point
of which is one foot from the source of one candela. A light source
of one candela emits a total of 12.57 lumens.
Excessive brightness in the field of view that causes loss
in visual performance or annoyance, so as to jeopardize health, safety
or welfare.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
an approved and recorded plan, abutting a public street or having
access to a public street over an approved easement, and enclosed
by a boundary or a group of contiguous such tracts under common ownership.
Lighting attached to poles or structures that is mounted at a point 10 feet or less in height from the ground level below including wall-mounted lighting that projects directly upon a structure for purposes of illuminating addresses and building identification information or signs or flags displaying said information where such are authorized by Chapter 185, Zoning, and which utilizes light bulbs or lighting devices emitting 100 watts or less.
A.
"Nuisance lighting" shall be defined as any outdoor lighting or lighting
projected from a building or structure that projects upon the ground
outside of a building or structure that meets one or more of the following:
(1)
The intensity of illumination projected onto a residential lot from
another lot exceeds 0.1 vertical footcandle, measured at 30 inches
above the ground at any property line within the line of sight of
the light source.
(2)
The intensity of illumination projected onto a lot other than a residential
lot from another lot exceeds one vertical footcandle, measured at
30 inches above the ground at any property line within the line of
sight of the light source.
(3)
A cutoff shield of less than 60°.
(4)
Lighting mounted at a height greater than 25 feet from the level
of ground below the light source.
(5)
Lighting which produces glare visible from adjoining lots or public
rights-of-way by virtue of the mounting height in relationship to
surrounding topography, regardless of the cutoff angle of the associated
shields.
A.
Nuisance lighting, as defined in § 85-3, shall not be permitted and shall be abated as per § 85-7 and notification of the Code Enforcement Officer. The remaining standards set forth in this section shall be effective for all lighting installed after the adoption of this chapter, including replacement of existing lighting fixtures.
B.
All outdoor lighting shall be aimed, located, designed, fitted and
maintained, so as not to create glare, light pollution and light trespass.
C.
Lighted signs advertising individual business and combinations of
businesses (as in a shopping center) on the same site as the sign
may remain on until 15 minutes after closing of the business or combination
of businesses and then shall be extinguished.
D.
Entrance signs to residential developments and to business parks
or shopping centers may remain on throughout the night for identification
purposes for emergency vehicles.
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.
Externally illuminated signs shall be lighted by fixtures mounted
at the top of the sign and aimed downward and shall be designed, fitted
and aimed so as not to project their output beyond the sign intended
to be illuminated.
G.
Except as otherwise permitted in this section, fixtures meeting Illuminating
Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) full-cutoff criteria
shall not be mounted in excess of 20 feet above finished grade. Fixtures
not meeting IESNA full-cutoff criteria shall not be mounted in excess of 10 feet above grade except
as specifically approved by the Township Board of Supervisors.
H.
Fixtures used for architectural lighting, e.g., facade, fountain,
feature and landscape lighting, shall be designed, fitted and aimed
so as not to project their output beyond the objects intended to be
illuminated.
A.
Lighting within subdivisions and land developments as defined by Chapter 147, Subdivision and Land Development, as well as developments approved in accordance with conditional uses set forth within Chapter 185, Zoning, shall comply with the following specifications and standards. Applicants shall demonstrate compliance with said standards and the general standards set forth in § 85-4 prior to final approval of such plans. However, nothing in the section shall be construed to require streetlighting in residential subdivision plans comprised of single-family detached housing lots.
B.
When a proposed land development plan is an expansion of an existing
land development, where buildings and/or parking have been legally
constructed on the same site, lighting standards shall apply to those
buildings, additions, and amenities proposed as well as to any area
of the existing plan impacted by the proposed expansion(s). Nothing
in this section shall be deemed to require the demolition and replacement
of existing lighting which has been legally installed and maintained,
provided that replacement of light poles and fixtures as proposed
or undertaken by the applicant concurrently with or within one year
of the land development application filing shall meet the standards
of this chapter.
C.
Illumination levels.
(1)
Lighting shall have intensities and uniformity ratios in accordance
with the current recommended practices of the Illuminating Engineering
Society of North America (IESNA) as contained in the IESNA Lighting
Handbook, 9th Edition.
(2)
Examples of intensities for typical outdoor applications, as extracted
from the 9th Edition of the Lighting Handbook, are presented below:
|
Use/Task
|
Maintained Footcandles
|
Uniformity Ratio - Average: Minimum
|
|---|---|---|
|
Streets, local residential
|
0.4 average
|
6:1
|
|
Streets, local commercial
|
0.9 average
|
6:1
|
|
Parking, residential, multifamily, low vehicular/pedestrian
activity
|
0.2 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Medium vehicular/pedestrian activity
|
0.6 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Parking, industrial/commercial/institutional/municipal:
| ||
|
High activity, e.g., regional shopping centers/fast-food facilities,
major civic/cultural events and private recreational activities
|
0.9 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Medium activity, e.g., community shopping centers, office parks,
hospitals, commuter lots
|
0.6 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Low activity, e.g., neighborhood shopping, industrial employee
parking, schools, church parking
|
0.2 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Walkways and bikeways
|
0.5 average
|
5:1
|
|
Building entrances
|
5.0 average
|
-
|
|
NOTES: Illumination levels are maintained horizontal
footcandles on the task, e.g., pavement or area surface. Uniformity
ratios dictate that average illuminance values shall not exceed minimum
values by more than the product of the minimum value and the specified
ratio, e.g., for commercial parking high activity, the average footcandles
shall not be in excess of 3.6, i.e., (0.9 x 4).
|
D.
Streetlighting fixtures in multifamily residential developments and
mobile home parks shall be placed at the following locations:
E.
Recreational lighting. When facilities for outdoor recreational activities
such as, but not limited to, baseball, tennis, football or miniature
golf are specifically authorized within this chapter:
(1)
Except as otherwise authorized, sporting events shall be timed so
that all area lighting in the sports facility, except as required
for safe spectator exit, is extinguished by 11:00 p.m.
(2)
Mounting heights. Maximum mounting heights for outdoor recreational
lighting shall be generally in accordance with the following:
|
Sport
|
Mounting Height
(feet)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Basketball
|
20
| |
|
Football and other field sports
|
50
| |
|
Organized baseball and softball:
| ||
|
200-foot radius
|
60
| |
|
300-foot radius
|
70
| |
|
Miniature golf
|
20
| |
|
Tennis
|
30
| |
F.
Unless a period of outdoor lighting extending throughout the night
for safety or security purposes, lighting shall be controlled by automatic
switching devices, such as time clocks or combination motion detectors
and photocells, to permit extinguishing lighting between 11:00 p.m.
and dawn.
G.
Plan submission.
(1)
Lighting plans shall be submitted to the Township as part of the
final subdivision and land development for review and approval for
all proposed outdoor lighting, including but not limited to proposals
which are part of a subdivision or land development plan, and shall
include:
(a)
Layout of the proposed fixture locations.
(b)
For installations of up to four fixtures, an isofootcandle plot
of the individual fixtures.
(c)
Where more than four fixtures are used, a point-by-point plot
using a ten-foot-by-ten-foot illuminance grid. This shall include
a statistical summary of typical areas and include minimum, average
and maximum values and uniformity ratios that demonstrate compliance
with the intensities and uniformities set forth in this section.
(d)
Description of the equipment, including fixture catalog cuts,
photometrics, glare-reduction devices, lamps, control devices, mounting
heights and mounting methods proposed.
(2)
When requested by the Board of Supervisors, the applicant shall submit
a visual impact plan that demonstrates appropriate steps have been
taken to mitigate on-site and off-site glare.
(3)
Post-approval alterations to lighting plans or intended substitutions
for approved lighting equipment shall be submitted to the Township
for review and approval.
A.
Lighting. The approval of security lighting or floodlighting which
exceeds the uniformity ratios otherwise authorized in a particular
use may be granted by the Board of Supervisors upon submission of
a written request for a modification by the applicant in accordance
with the following criteria:
(1)
Floodlights and spotlights shall be so installed or aimed that they
do not project their output into the windows of neighboring residences,
adjacent uses, directly skyward or onto a roadway.
(2)
All-night safety or security lighting shall be permitted, but the
light-intensity levels shall not exceed 25% of the levels normally
permitted for the use by this section.
(3)
The nature and/or historic functioning of a particular establishment
type shall be demonstrated to require greater security for the safety
of employees and patrons and/or security of merchandise, products,
or other items integral to the establishment's functionality
and stored on site.
(4)
The departure from the uniformity ratio typically required for a
certain class and intensity of establishment shall be the minimum
required for security-related purposes.
B.
Waiver and modification requests. In addition to modifications submitted in accordance with Subsection A, property owners may submit an application for waiver or modification of the standards of this chapter. The Board of Supervisors may grant requests for waiver or modification in consideration of the following:
(1)
The Board of Supervisors may grant a modification or waiver of the
requirements of one or more provisions of this chapter if the literal
enforcement will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions
pertaining to the land in question, provided that such modification
will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and
intent of the chapter is observed.
(2)
The Board of Supervisors may also grant a modification of the requirements
of the chapter, absent a hardship, if the applicant submits sufficient
evidence to substantiate that the alternative proposal meets or exceeds
the performance objectives of the subject provision.
(3)
All requests for a modification shall be in writing and shall accompany
and be a part of the application for development. The request shall
state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship
on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of the
ordinance involved and the minimum modification necessary.
A.
The Board of Supervisors shall appoint a Code Enforcement Officer
deemed qualified to provide the initial determination of violation
of this chapter and to serve a notice of violation.
B.
Where the Code Enforcement Officer determines that a violation of
this chapter has occurred, the Officer shall provide written notice
to the owner of the property on which the determined violation exists
at the tax mailing address of the owner as well as to the tenant(s)
of the particular property or unit, when applicable.
C.
Said notice shall require the owner to correct the violation within
a time period commensurate with the immediacy of safety hazards posed
by the determined violation and/or the length of time customarily
necessary to conduct the work required to correct the determined violation.
D.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay
a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this
chapter. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules
of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a
separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the
Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including
injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
[Amended 7-13-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-01]
This chapter becomes effective on April 17, 2011.
