Newtown City Zoning Code
§ B70-7.10
Lighting requirements for business, professional and industrial uses.
A.
General: The following regulations shall apply to the provision of any outdoor illumination in connection with a use of land, buildings and other structures within the Borough. The purpose of this section is to enable the provision of sufficient outdoor illumination for safety, convenience and security while minimizing sky glow, safeguarding against discomfort glare and disability veiling glare, minimizing the trespass of light on adjacent properties and avoiding the adverse effects from illumination upon the use, enjoyment and value of property and upon the appearance and beauty of the Borough.
B.
Definitions: For the purpose of these Regulations, certain lighting terms are defined as follows.
(1)
Footcandle: A unit of illumination (light flux on a surface); one footcandle equals one lumen of light flux distributed evenly on one square foot of surface.
(2)
Footlambert: A unit of brightness (light seen by the eye); one footlambert equals either one lumen of light flux reflected by one square foot of a reflecting surface or one lumen of light flux emitted or transmitted by one square foot of a diffusing surface.
(3)
Luminaire: A complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp or lamps, together with any reflectors, refractors, diffusers, baffles or other devices to distribute the light, and with parts to position and protect the lamps and to connect the lamps to the power supply.
C.
Standards: Outdoor illumination that is subject to this Section shall conform to the following standards:
(1)
Glare: All outdoor illumination shall be provided and maintained in a manner that safeguards against discomfort glare and disability veiling glare in any street and upon pedestrian ways and vehicular parking, loading and circulation areas on the lot where located and on any other lot.
(2)
Area lighting: Area lighting luminaries, whether on poles, attached to buildings or otherwise provided, but excluding floodlighting luminaries, shall conform to the following:
(a)
Such area lighting shall be provided by means of full cutoff type luminaries.
(b)
Such full cutoff luminaries shall be located or shielded so as to deliver no more than .05 footcandles of illumination at the property line, which illumination shall be measured in both a horizontal and vertical planes at the property line.
(c)
No area lighting luminaire shall be located more than 14 feet above the ground.
(3)
Floodlighting: Floodlighting luminaries shall be used only for illumination of buildings and other structures and architectural and landscape features and shall conform to the following:
(a)
Floodlighting luminaries shall be shielded, such as by visors, or baffles, to minimize spillage of light beyond the outside edge of the object being illuminated.
(b)
Floodlighting luminaries shall be aimed at buildings and away from adjacent properties.
(c)
No floodlighting illumination shall be permitted within 200 feet of a Residential zone.
(d)
Any floodlighting illumination shall not result in the luminance (brightness) of the illuminated object exceeding five footlamberts.
(e)
No floodlight luminaire shall be located more than 14 feet above the ground.
(f)
Floodlight luminaries shall be located or shielded so as to deliver no more than 0.05 footcandles of illumination at the property line, which illumination shall be measured in both a horizontal and vertical planes at the property line.
D.
No lighting shall be constructed, erected altered or otherwise changed without a permit application filed and approved. All Lighting Permit applications shall be signed by the applicant and owner of the lot on which the lighting will be located.
E.
Lighting other than that approved in the design guidelines may be presented via the permit process, subject to all other Sections of this regulation, and shall be accompanied by the following:
(1)
A sketch drawing to scale of the building facades;
(2)
A plot plan showing locations, dimensions and types of all existing lights on the premises; and
(3)
Plans and specs for the proposed lights including locations, dimensions, maximum and minimum height, proposed design materials, photos of the proposed lighting fixtures, bulb types, bulb wattage, bulb Color Rendering Index, footcandle, shielding, filters, directional fixtures, housings, utility connections, transformers, louvers, reflectors, lenses, staking, mirrors, caging, screening and landscaping.