The buffer yard shall be measured from the district boundary line or from the ultimate street right-of-way line where a street serves as the district boundary line. Buffer yards may not be part of an existing or future ultimate street right-of-way but shall be in addition to that right-of-way.

A fifty-foot buffer yard shall be required along the district boundaries between any nonresidential and residential district boundary lines in the Township or adjoining municipalities.

A fifty-foot buffer yard may be located within the required side or rear yards, or any other buffer yards; and in the case of conflict, the larger yard requirements shall apply.

In all buffer yards, the exterior width beyond the fence or planting screen shall be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover, and shall be maintained and kept clean of all debris, rubbish, weeds and overgrown grass.

The buffer yard shall be a landscaped area free of structures (except fences and walls), manufacturing or processing activity, materials and vehicular parking. No driveways or streets shall be permitted in the buffer yards except at points of ingress or egress. No recreation use shall be permitted in a buffer. Buffer yards shall exclude recreation space (but not open space) area required by the Township subdivision and land development Ordinance.[1]

In cases where a buffer yard would normally be located in the floodplain, the buffer yard area shall instead start at the 100-year floodplain elevation line. If the buffer yard and floodplain are dedicated to the Township, then no planting screen will be required.

All buffer yards shall include a dense screen planting of trees, shrubs or other plant materials to the full length of the lot line to serve as a barrier to visibility, airborne particles, glare and noise, and, when determined by the Township to be necessary for public safety, a fence as described below. Such screen planting shall be in accordance with the following requirements:

The depth of any required buffer yard not otherwise specified by this chapter or by subdivision and land development Ordinance [Chapter 22A] shall be 10 feet.

Buffer screens shall utilize design schemes provided in the Lower Macungie Design Guidelines.[2]

To establish requirements for outdoor lighting installations which promote public safety and welfare during the nighttime while minimizing the adverse effects of glare and light trespass often associated with outdoor lighting;

To protect the privacy of property owners by limiting the potential for glare and light trespass from outdoor lighting installations located on adjacent properties and roadways;

To prohibit outdoor lighting installations which are of excessive intensity and/or are deficient of photometric control such that the resulting glare and light trespass create a nuisance to pedestrians, cyclists, or motorists on neighboring properties and roadways;

To promote outdoor lighting installations which serve to enhance the nighttime safety and enjoyment of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists throughout the community;

To set forth outdoor lighting requirements which are consistent with lighting industry standards and practices, available technologies, and the lighting sciences.

Outdoor lighting installations which are newly designed, constructed, erected, or otherwise placed into operation after the effective date of this chapter.

Alterations, rehabilitations, or renovations to existing outdoor lighting installations, which are commenced after the effective date of this chapter, and which involve the complete replacement of an existing lighting system with a new lighting system.

Whenever a new outdoor light fixture replaces an outdoor light fixture that existed on the effective date of this chapter, the new fixture must meet the standards of this section.

Replacement of lamps that are burned out or inoperative.

Replacement or repair of damaged or inoperative fixture components, such as ballasts, ignitors, lenses, reflectors, refractors, sockets, or photocell controls.

Unless superseded by requirements listed in this section of this chapter, the IESNA Lighting Handbook, most recent edition, as published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), is hereby adopted by reference and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this section. The publication is on file in the Township office.

Unless superseded by requirements listed in this section of this chapter, the publication, a copy of which is on file in the Township office, being marked and designated as "American National Standard, Nomenclature and Definitions for Illuminating Engineering," most recent edition, as published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and approved by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI), and referred to in this section as the "ANSI/IESNA Lighting Definitions," is hereby adopted by reference and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this section.

In all residential zones, any lighting used to illuminate an off-street parking area or other structure or area shall be arranged so as to deflect light away from any adjoining property or from the public street. The light source shall be downcast, hooded, shielded or controlled so as not to light adjacent property in excess of the maximum intensity as defined below.

Illumination of a driveway entrance near the intersection with a roadway is encouraged for the enhanced safety of motorists and pedestrians. However, lighting intensity and glare shall be limited to not be a distraction or nuisance to vehicles on the roadway or nearby properties. This applies to all zoning districts.

In commercial and industrial zones, any lighting used to illuminate an off-street parking area or other structure or area shall be arranged so as to deflect light away from any adjoining property or from the public street. All commercial and industrial light standards (poles) shall be black powder coated for uniformity, unless otherwise approved by the Zoning Officer.

Illumination Levels. Outdoor lighting where required by this chapter or any other applicable ordinance or provided on property within the Township shall be provided within the range of permitted lighting levels as specified in the following table.

Intensity. No light source or combination thereof which casts light on a public street shall exceed a meter reading of one footcandle as measured from the centerline of said street nor shall any light source or combination thereof which casts light on adjacent residential property exceed 0.1 footcandle as measured at the property line or 1.0 footcandle on an adjacent nonresidential property.

Method of Measuring Light Intensity. The footcandle level of a light source shall be taken after dark with the light meter held six inches above the ground with the meter facing the light source. A reading shall be taken with the light source on, then with the light source off. The difference between the two readings will be identified as the illumination intensity.

Height. The maximum mounting height above the adjacent grade permitted for light sources mounted on a pole is 25 feet. A light source mounted on a building shall not exceed the height of the face of the building to which it is attached, and no light sources shall be located on the roof unless said light enhances the architectural features of the building, as approved by the Zoning Officer.

Location. The light source of an outdoor light fixture shall be set back a minimum horizontal distance equal to its height from each property line but in no case less than 10 feet from a street right-of-way and five feet from all side or rear lot lines.

Hours. Outdoor lighting which serves commercial or industrial uses that do not operate after dark must be turned off 1/2 hour after closing except for approved security lighting in accordance with the following § 27-1805.6.J. For those commercial or industrial uses that offer services after dark, outdoor lighting may be utilized during the nighttime hours, provided that the commercial or industrial use is open for service. Once the commercial or industrial use closes, the outdoor lighting must be turned off one hour after closing except for security lighting.

Security Lighting. In all zones, exterior lighting of a building and/or grounds for security surveillance purposes is permitted. Such lighting shall be arranged and of sufficient illumination to enable the detection of suspicious movement rather than the recognition of definitive detail. For security lighting of grounds and parking lots, the level of illumination shall not exceed a maximum average illumination of 25% that level required in § 27-1805.6.D of this chapter. Security lighting for buildings/structures shall be directed toward the face of the building/structure rather than the area around it and shall not exceed a maximum illumination of five footcandles.

Illumination Under Outdoor Canopies. Under-canopy lighting 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 illumination in the area directly below the canopy shall not exceed eight average footcandles and the maximum shall not exceed 11 footcandles. Outdoor canopies include, but are not limited to, the following applications:

Billboards and Signs. The lighting of new, or replacement of lighting systems of existing, billboards and signs shall be subject to the following requirements:

Outdoor Recreation. No lighting of recreation facilities shall be permitted brighter than that necessary for security purposes except during recreation events. The nighttime illumination of outdoor recreational facilities for baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, track and field, and football typically necessitate higher than normally allowed fixture mounting heights and aiming angles, utilize very high-wattage lamps and potentially produce unacceptable levels of light trespass and glare when located near residential properties. The following requirements shall apply to the lighting of outdoor recreation facilities:

Plans indicating the location on the premises and the type of illuminating devices, color temperature of the lamp, fixtures, lamps, supports, reflectors and other devices.

Description of illuminating devices, fixtures, lamps, supports, reflectors and other devices and the description may include, but is not limited to, catalog cuts by manufacturers and drawings (including sections where required, the angle of the cutoff or light emissions, etc.).

A point-by-point illuminance-grid plot on ten-foot-by-ten-foot centers (or as necessary for suitable legibility) of footcandles overlaid on the site plan, plotted out to 0.0 maintained footcandles, which demonstrate compliance with the light trespass, illuminance and uniformity requirements as set forth in this section.

When landscaping plans are involved, they shall contain the lighting fixture locations and shall demonstrate that the site lighting and landscaping have been coordinated to minimize conflict between vegetation and intended light distribution, both initially and at vegetation maturity.

When requested by the Township, the applicant shall also submit a visual impact plan that demonstrates appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate the potential consequences of on-site and off-site glare. This plan may require the inclusion of footcandle values at specific off-site locations (e.g., bedroom windows of adjacent residential uses, street centerlines, etc.).

Required Plan Notes. The following notes shall appear on the lighting plan:

Temporary Holiday Lighting. This section does not prohibit the use of temporary outdoor lighting used during customary holiday seasons.

Civic Event Lighting. This section does not prohibit the use of temporary outdoor lighting used for civic celebrations and promotions.

Lighting fixtures and standards required by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, or other federal, state, county or municipal agencies to include streetlights within the public right-of-way.

Outdoor lighting fixtures required by law enforcement, fire and rescue, or other emergency response agencies to perform emergency or construction repair work or to perform nighttime road construction.