Union Township City Zoning Code
§ 30-7.5
Lighting.
[Ord. No. 85-9, § 704; Ord. No. 2003-3]
a.
Lighting.
1.
Adequate lighting shall be provided for parking lots, and shall be designed in accordance with standards of this subsection.
2.
Street Lighting. Street lighting shall be prohibited unless the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment shall determine that the literal enforcement of the prohibition against street lighting is impracticable or will exact undue hardship because of the peculiar conditions pertaining to particular land or lands in question. Should the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment determine to grant a waiver to allow for street lighting, any such street lighting shall be installed in accordance with all applicable guidelines as set forth in this subsection and the applicant shall be responsible for installation of same in accordance with such standards and such additional conditions as may be imposed by the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment.
3.
Design Standards. Lighting shall be designed in accordance with this subsection.
b.
Outdoor Lighting. All outdoor light fixtures installed and thereafter maintained, other than those serving one- and two-family dwellings (except as otherwise noted, see Subsection b8 below) shall be outdoor enclosed light fixtures, and shall comply with the requirements specified in this subsection:
1.
Where used for security purposes or to illuminate walkways, roadways and parking lots, only outdoor enclosed light fixtures shielded from public view and having the performance characteristics of a full cut off light fixture shall be used.
2.
Where used for commercial and industrial purposes such as in merchandise display areas, work areas, platforms, signs, architectural, landscape or sports or recreational facilities, all light fixtures shall be equipped with automatic timing devices and shall comply with the following:
(a)
Lamp/luminaire combinations being considered to illuminate flags, statues or any other objects mounted on a pole, pedestal or platform, shall have their candlepower curve plotted such that 100% of the beam angle used is not greater than the size of the object to be illuminated.
(a)(1) | In the case of flags that can move in the wind 360° around the pole, the beam angle shall be based on a circle having a radius equal to the width of the flag, except that flags having a width of 12 feet or more shall be illuminated by the beam with a radius not greater than 2/3 of the width of the flag. |
(b)
Other upward directed architectural, landscape or decorative light emissions shall have at least 90% of their total distribution pattern within the profile of the illuminated structure.
(c)
Fixtures used to illuminate signs, including commercial billboard, building identification or other similar illuminated signs, shall comply with the following:
(1)
Top mounted external light fixtures shall have illumination levels plotted such that 100% of the beam angle used is not greater than the size of the externally illuminated signs, and are preferred over any other positioned light fixtures.
(2)
When top mounted external light fixtures are not feasible for good cause shown, illumination from other positioned light fixtures shall continue to be restricted to the sign area. Visors or other directional control devices shall be used to eliminate any spill light. Furthermore, when billboard or any other signage is viewed from the opposite side of that being illuminated, luminous portions of the light fixtures, and stray light, shall not be visible.
(4)
Fixtures that permit the illumination to flash, blink or rotate shall be prohibited.
3.
Detailed plans are to be provided to illustrate floodlight distribution patterns. Once properly installed, the fixtures are to be aimed, permanently affixed, and maintained in the approved position according to the terms of approval outlined in the approving resolution.
4.
Foundations supporting lighting poles installed less than two feet behind the curb, shall not be less than 24 inches off the ground.
5.
Outdoor light fixtures for purposes of private, commercial, or industrial usage shall not be attached or mounted to public property (i.e. buildings, utility poles, telephone poles, street lights, road/street signs). Furthermore, these fixtures shall not tap or extend power from sources servicing public lighting and/or power devices.
6.
To permit visual adaptation for motorists approaching commercial properties from adjacent low luminance areas, vertical luminances on the commercial and industrial properties in these locations shall be limited for internally illuminated signs and for externally illuminated signs and building surfaces used as signs.
7.
Outdoor recreational and sports facility lighting shall be shielded from public view, as observed from outside the playing field. Such lighting shall have directional and glare control devices, when necessary, to comply with Subsection c. Lamps and/or light sources shall not be visible from residential properties.
8.
All new outdoor fixtures installed after adoption of this subsection that serve one- and two-family dwellings and that have initial light outputs greater than 1500 lumens shall be outdoor enclosed light fixtures. Light fixtures with initial light outputs less than 1500 lumens such as decorative porch lights, wall sconces, post top lanterns and walkway fixtures may contain lamps and glass/plastic diffusing devices that extend beyond the opaque fixture enclosure. All outdoor light fixtures shall comply with the requirements as specified below:
(a)
Light distributions generated by light fixtures shall be confined to the property on which they are installed.
(b)
Outdoor light fixtures properly installed and maintained shall be directed so that there will not be any direct glare source visible from any adjacent residential property.
(c)
Light fixtures installed within any setback area, including front, rear or side yard setbacks, shall contain shielded devices to prevent light spill and glare upward and onto adjacent properties.
c.
Light Trespass (Nuisance Light). All light fixtures, except street lighting maintained by a governmental authority, shall be designed, installed and maintained to prevent light trespass, as specified below.
1.
Facade lighting on schools, hospitals and other public buildings or incident illumination occurring above the height of five feet above the property line of the subject property shall not exceed 0.1 footcandle in a vertical plane on residentially zoned property.
2.
Outdoor light fixtures properly installed and thereafter maintained shall be directed so that there will not be any direct glare source visible from any property.
Note: Light fixtures near adjacent property may require special shielding devices to prevent light trespass.
d.
Illuminations Requirements. Illuminance requirements shall be set forth below.
1.
Street Lighting:
Category | Average Illuminance fc | Ratio fc | |
|---|---|---|---|
Initial | Maintained | Average to Minimum | |
Residential Street Lighting Local | 0.6 fc | 0.4 fc | 4 to 1 |
Street Lighting Collector | 0.9 fc | 0.6 fc | 4 to 1 |
Commercial Street Lighting Local | 1.3 fc | 0.9 fc | 4 to 1 |
Street Lighting Collector | 1.7 fc | 1.2 fc | 4 to 1 |
3.
All other illuminance shall not exceed IESNA recommendations.
4.
Internally illuminated signs shall not exceed 45 to 70 lums, as measured one foot away from signs.
5.
When building surfaces are used as signs, the luminance values and surface reflectances shall be the same as those indicated for externally illuminated signs.
e.
Outdoor Lighting Energy Conservation.
1.
All outdoor lighting not essential for safety and security purposes or to illustrate changes in grade or material shall be activated by automatic control devices and turned off during non-operating hours.
(a)
Exterior retail and merchandise display lighting, e.g. automobile dealerships, nurseries/garden markets, shall be turned off between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Reduced levels of lighting in interior show or display windows may remain on for security purposes provided, however, that these levels shall not exceed 25% of the normal artificial lighting levels in the interior display or show windows.
(b)
Exterior lighting for recreational areas, athletic fields and courts shall not remain on after 10:00 p.m., except for exterior lighting located within and serving accredited educational institutions, which shall not remain on after 11:00 p.m.
(c)
Exterior security lighting shall be classified as one of the following:
(1)
Lighting Which Is Essential to Deter Vandalism and/or Break-Ins. This lighting shall be limited to exterior door locations. Fixtures used for normal operations at these locations must remain on. The fixtures shall be outdoor enclosed lighting fixtures. If window areas present possible break-in locations, reduced levels of interior lighting which is situated around the window may remain on as a night light source to illuminate a window. Night light levels shall not exceed 25% of the normal interior artificial lighting levels around the windows.
(2)
Normally Off Lighting That Is Activated by a Sensor or Detector. Typically, discharge lamp sources such as sodium vapor, mercury vapor, and metal halide are not instant start. Therefore, consideration should be given to using other lamp sources such as incandescent, tungsten halogen, and florescent which can be used for immediate activation. Normally off lighting activated by sensors or detectors shall be directed toward the vertical surfaces of buildings or objects of concern and shall not remain on for greater than five minutes after activation.
(3)
Lighting That Remains on for Surveillance Cameras. This lighting shall be confined to vertical building surfaces along the perimeter of a site, e.g. walls, trees, bushes. Illuminance levels for this lighting shall be coordinated with, and not exceed, the minimum illuminance threshold of the cameras being used. This data shall be provided with the submission of the plans, in accordance with subsection f below. Surveillance cameras used in conjunction with outdoor lighting shall require the minimum illuminance thresholds reasonably available.
f.
Submission of Plans. Plans and evidence of compliance shall include the following:
1.
Description of outdoor lamp/luminaire combinations including component specifications such as lamps, reflectors, optics, angle of cutoff, supports, poles and include manufacturers catalog cuts.
2.
Locations and descriptions of every outdoor enclosed light fixture and hours of operation, their aiming angles and mounting heights.
3.
The initial horizontal and vertical illuminance shall be illustrated in footcandles (before depreciation). Illustrate relamping and cleaning cycles to arrive at maintained values of illumination. Separately state proposed maintained footcandles (horizontal and vertical):
4.
Computer generated photometric grid showing footcandle readings every 10 feet and the average footcandles. Depending upon the design application, this can be for either or both facade (vertical) or horizontal illumination levels.
5.
Foundation details for light poles.
6.
Post construction maintenance and monitoring program designed to demonstrate that fixtures are installed and maintained in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.
g.
Prohibitions. Searchlights or flashing or animated signs are prohibited, other than as approved by the Township Committee. Lighting which significantly alters nighttime view sheds or vistas from existing residential or public properties is also prohibited.
h.
Notifications. Any developer constructing new one- and two-family dwellings in the Township shall provide home purchasers with a copy of Subsection b8, which addresses lighting standards for one- and two-family dwellings.
Schedule A, Parking Lots | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained Illuminance | Initial Illuminance | |||
Basic | Medium Security | Basic | Enhanced Security | |
Horizontal Illuminance | ||||
Minimum | 0.2 fc | 0.5 fc | 0.3 fc | 0.7 fc |
Average | 1.0 fc | 2.5 fc | 1.4 fc | 3.6 fc |
Uniformity Ratios | ||||
Average to Minimum | 4:1 | 4:1 | 4:1 | 4:1 |
Maximum to Minimum | 8:1 | 8:1 | 8:1 | 8:1 |
1.
Minimum horizontal illuminance shall be no lower than 0.2 fc.
2.
Average horizontal illuminance shall not exceed 2.5 fc.
3.
For Typical Conditions. During periods of non-use, the illuminance of certain parking facilities should be turned off or reduced to conserve energy. If reduced lighting is to be used only for the purpose of property security, it is desirable that the minimum (low point) not be less than 0.1 fc. Reductions should not be applied to facilities subject to intermittent night use, such as apartments, hospitals, and active transportation areas.
4.
High vehicular traffic locations should generally require the enhanced level of illumination. Exits, entrances, internal connecting roadways and such would be some examples.