Tarentum City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Lighting
The following standards shall apply to the design and operation of outdoor lighting for residential, commercial and institutional areas for loading, ingress and egress, parking, security, private recreational uses and institutional uses: |
§ 265-1001 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to establish minimum standards for outdoor lighting to:
Provide lighting in outdoor places where public health, safety and welfare are potential concerns.
Protect drivers and pedestrians from the glare of nonvehicular light sources that affect driver vision.
Protect neighbors and the night sky from nuisance glare and stray light from incorrectly aimed, placed, applied, maintained or shielded light sources.
§ 265-1002 Applicability.
Outdoor lighting shall be provided in accordance with the following standards for the following uses:
Multifamily. Multifamily shall include multifamily and groups of townhouse dwelling units.
Residential. Residential shall include all types of units other than multifamily, namely single-family and duplex dwellings.
Commercial. Commercial uses shall include all retail, office, and personal service activities.
Industrial. Industrial uses shall also include warehouse, wholesale, and distribution.
Educational. Educational uses shall include public, private, commercial, and nursery schools and day-care centers.
Private recreational uses as provided for in this chapter.
§ 265-1003 Criteria.
Illumination levels.
Lighting, where required or permitted by this section, 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.
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, multi-family 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). |
Lighting fixture design.
For lighting of horizontal surfaces such as roadways, pathways and parking areas, fixtures shall meet IESNA full-cutoff criteria.
For lighting of nonhorizontal surfaces such as the use of floodlighting, spotlighting, wall-mounted fixtures, decorative globes and other fixtures not meeting IESNA full-cutoff criteria shall be remitted only with glare control and notwithstanding the required uniformity ratio.
Fixtures shall be equipped with or be capable of being back-fitted with tight-directing devices such as shields, visors or hoods when necessary to redirect offending light distribution.
Control of glare, light pollution and light trespass.
All outdoor lighting whether or not required by this chapter, on private, residential, commercial, industrial municipal, educational or institutional property, shall be aimed, located, designed, fitted and maintained so as not to create glare, light pollution and light trespass.
Lighted signs advertising individual business and combinations of businesses (as in a shopping center) may remain on until 15 minutes after closing of the business or combination of businesses and then shall be extinguished.
Entrance signs to residential developments and to business parks or shopping centers may remain on throughout the night for identification purposes for emergency vehicles.
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.
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.
The intensity of illumination projected onto a residential use from another property shall not exceed 0.1 vertical footcandle, measured at 30 inches above the ground at the property line.
Externally illuminated signs shall be lighted by fixtures mounted at the top of the sign and aimed downward.
Except as otherwise permitted in this section, fixtures meeting 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 16 feet above grade except as specifically approved by the Borough Council.
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.
Lighting. The approval of security or flood lighting which exceeds the uniformity ratios otherwise authorized in a particular use may be granted by Council as a conditional use with the following criteria:
Floodlights and spotlights, when permitted, 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.
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.
The nature 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.
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.
Installation.
Maintenance. Lighting fixtures and ancillary equipment shall be maintained so as always to meet the requirements of this section.
§ 265-1004 Residential development fixture placement.
Street lighting fixtures in multifamily residential developments and mobile home parks shall be placed at the following locations:
Recreational lighting. When facilities for outdoor recreational activities such as, but not limited to, baseball, tennis, football and miniature golf are specifically authorized within this chapter:
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.
Mounting heights. Maximum mounting heights for outdoor recreational lighting shall be generally in accordance with the following:
Plan submission.
Lighting plans shall be submitted to the Borough 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:
Layout of the proposed fixture locations.
For installations of up to four fixtures, an isofootcandle plot of the individual fixtures.
Where more than four fixtures are used, a point-by-point plot using a 10-foot-by-10-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.
Description of the equipment, including fixture catalog cuts, photometrics, glare-reduction devices, lamps, control devices, mounting heights and mounting methods proposed.
When requested by the Council, applicant shall submit a visual impact plan that demonstrates appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate on-site and off-site glare.
Post-approval alterations to lighting plans or intended substitutions for approved lighting equipment shall be submitted to the Borough for review and approval.
District-specific standards.
CC Commercial Center District, traditional neighborhood developments, R-2, and R-1 Zoning Districts. No freestanding light fixture shall be taller than 15 feet. Wall-mounted lighting, unless authorized as indirect lighting for signage, shall not be mounted higher than 15 feet from the adjoining grade of ground.
RFO Riverfront Overlay and RRO Rural Resource Overlay Districts. Where development is approved in accordance with and authorized by the overlay district, no freestanding light fixture shall be taller than 20 feet. Wall-mounted lighting, unless authorized as indirect lighting for signage, shall not be mounted higher than 20 feet from the adjoining grade of ground.