[Added 7-7-2020 by Ord. No. 07072020]
A.
An article establishing regulations, specifications and restrictions
for the use, maintenance and installation of outdoor lighting in the
Village.
This article shall be known as and may be cited as the "Outdoor
Lighting Ordinance."
A.
To require and set minimum standards for outdoor lighting.
(1)
Good outdoor lighting at night benefits everyone. It increases safety,
enhances the Village's nighttime character, and helps provide security.
Excessive glare can be annoying and may cause safety problems. Light
trespass reduces everyone's privacy, and higher energy use results
in increased costs for everyone.
(2)
There is a need for a lighting ordinance that recognizes the benefits
of outdoor lighting and provides clear guidelines for its installation
so as to help maintain and compliment the Village's character. Appropriately
regulated, and properly installed, outdoor lighting will contribute
to the safety and welfare of the residents of the Village.
(3)
This article is intended to reduce the problems created by improperly
designed and installed outdoor lighting. It is intended to eliminate
problems of glare, minimize light trespass, and help reduce the energy
and financial costs of outdoor lighting by establishing regulations
that limit the direction of lighting and the area that certain kinds
of outdoor-lighting fixtures can illuminate.
(4)
The secondary purpose of this article is to preserve the rural nature
of the countryside, enhance nighttime enjoyment of property, and enhance
the enjoyment of the night sky.
(5)
All lighting standards in this section are applicable to all lighting,
and no lighting shall be installed that violates the standards of
this chapter.
A.
All uses within the Village where there is exterior lighting that
creates a nuisance or hazard as viewed from outside, or exterior lighting
that creates a nuisance when viewed from inside, including, but not
limited to, residential, commercial, industrial, public and private
recreational/sports and institutional uses, and sign, billboard, architectural
and landscape lighting, with sole discretion being left to appropriate
officers or agents of the Village.
B.
The Village may, in its sole discretion, require the illumination of residential subdivisions in accordance with § 205-46F, below.
C.
The Village may, in its sole discretion, require lighting to be incorporated
for other uses or locations or may restrict lighting in any of the
above uses, as deemed necessary.
D.
The glare-control requirements herein contained apply to lighting
in all uses, applications and locations.
E.
Temporary seasonal decorative lighting is exempt from all but the
glare-control requirements of this article.
F.
Emergency lighting, as may be required by any public agency while
engaged in the performance of their duties, or for illumination of
the path of egress during an emergency as described in NFPA 75 and
NFPA 101, are exempt from the requirements of this article.
A rating of the amount of backlight, uplight and glare of
a luminaire.
A rating of the warmth or coolness of all light output expressed
in degrees Kelvin.
A lighting fixture from which no more than 2.5% of its lamp's
intensity is emitted at or above a horizontal plane drawn through
the bottom of the fixture, and no more than 10% of its lamp's intensity
is emitted between 80° and that horizontal plane.
Any lighting used for outdoor activities with large public
gatherings.
Any light fixture or lamp that incorporates a reflector or
a refractor to concentrate the light output into a directed beam in
a particular direction.
A unit of incident light stated in lumens per square foot
and measurable with an illuminance meter, also known as footcandle
or light meter.
A lighting fixture from which none of its lamp's intensity
is emitted at or above a horizontal plane drawn through the bottom
of the fixture, and no more than 10% of the lamp's intensity is emitted
between 80° and that horizontal plane.
A lighting fixture from which, in the installed position,
none of its light output, either directly from the lamp or a diffusing
element, or indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part of
the fixture (excepting only incidental reflections from supporting
brackets or arms), is projected above a horizontal plane through the
fixture's lowest light-emitting part, as determined by photometric
test or certified by the manufacturer. Any structural part of the
fixture providing this shielding shall be permanently affixed.
The sensation produced by lighting that causes an annoyance,
discomfort or loss in visual performance and visibility to the eye.
The quantity of incident light measured in footcandles.
Any lighting fixture or lighting installation legally installed and operative before the date of adoption of this article shall be considered as a lawful/nonconformance subject to requirements of § 205-48.
Light emitted by a lighting installation which extends beyond
the boundaries of the property on which the installation is sited.
The light-output rating of a lamp (light bulb), as used in
the context of this article.
A complete lighting unit.
The description of a luminaire from which no direct glare
is visible at normal viewing angles, by virtue of its being properly
aimed, oriented, and located and properly fitted with such devices
as shields, barn doors, baffles, louvers, skirts or visors.
A.
Illumination levels.
(1)
Lighting, where required by this article or otherwise required by
the Village, shall have illuminances and uniformity ratios in accordance
with the current recommended practices of the Illuminating Engineering
Society of North America (IES) as contained in the IES Lighting Handbook
and relevant recommended practices or as otherwise specified herein.
(2)
Future amendments to said Lighting Handbook and recommended practices
may become a part of this article without further action by the Village.
B.
Lighting fixture design.
(1)
Luminaires shall be of a type and design appropriate to the lighting
application and aesthetically acceptable to the Village.
(2)
For the lighting of horizontal surfaces such as, but not limited
to, parking areas, roadways, vehicular and pedestrian passage areas,
merchandising and storage areas, automotive-fuel dispensing facilities,
automotive sales areas, loading docks, culs-de-sac, active and passive
recreational areas, building entrances, sidewalks, bicycle and pedestrian
paths, and site entrances, luminaires shall be aimed at 90° to
horizontal surface. All fixtures will include full-cutoff/fully shielded
criteria, except as may be specified elsewhere in this article. In
the case of decorative street-lighting luminaires, the Village may
approve the use of luminaires with an uplight component not exceeding
1%.
(3)
For the lighting of predominantly nonhorizontal tasks or surfaces
such as, but not limited to, facades, landscaping, signs, billboards,
fountains, displays and statuary, when their use is specifically permitted
by the Village, luminaires shall be shielded and shall be installed
and aimed so as to not project their output into the windows of neighboring
residences, adjacent uses, past the object being illuminated, skyward
or onto a public roadway.
(4)
Barn lights, also known as "dusk-to-dawn lights," shall not be permitted
where they are visible during hours of darkness from a residential
use, unless fitted with a reflector or other shielding device to block
direct viewing of the light source from the adjacent use.
C.
Lighting control.
(1)
All lighting shall be aimed, located, designed, fitted and maintained
so as not to present a hazard to drivers or pedestrians by impairing
their ability to safely traverse and so as not to create a nuisance
by projecting or reflecting objectionable light onto a neighboring
use or property.
(2)
Directional luminaires such as floodlights and spotlights, when their
use is specifically approved by the Village, shall be so shielded,
installed and aimed that they do not project their output onto the
properties of neighboring residences, adjacent uses, past the object
being illuminated, skyward or onto a public roadway or pedestrian
way. Floodlights installed above grade on residential properties shall
not be aimed out more than 45° from straight down. When a floodlight
creates glare as viewed from an adjacent residential property, the
floodlight shall be required to be reaimed and/or fitted with a shielding
device to block the view of the glare source from that property.
(3)
Illumination for signs, billboards, building facades and/or surrounding
landscapes for decorative, advertising or aesthetic purposes, deemed
objectionable or a nuisance by designated Village staff, is prohibited
between 11:00 p.m. and dawn, except that such lighting situated on
the premises of a commercial establishment may remain illuminated
if not causing light pollution.
(4)
Lighting for parking areas and vehicular and pedestrian traffic ways
for commercial, industrial and institutional uses shall be reduced,
but for lighting utilized for continued on-site activity throughout
the night that requires site-wide, even illumination. The use of dimming
circuitry or reduction of fixtures illuminated to lower illumination
levels by at least 50% after 11:00 p.m. or after normal business hours,
or the use of motion-sensor control, shall be permitted.
(5)
Vegetation screens shall not be employed to serve as the primary
means for controlling glare. Rather, glare control shall be achieved
primarily using such means as cutoff fixtures, shields and baffles,
and appropriate application of fixture-mounting height, wattage, aiming
angle and fixture placement.
(6)
Only the United States and the state flag shall be permitted to be
illuminated from dusk till dawn, and each flag shall be illuminated
by a source or sources with a beam spread no greater than necessary
to illuminate the flag.
(7)
The use of white strobe lighting for tall structures such as smokestacks,
chimneys and radio/communications/television towers is prohibited
during hours of darkness, except as specifically required by the Federal
Aviation Administration.
(8)
Under-canopy lighting for such applications as gas/service stations,
hotel/theater marquees, fast-food/bank/drugstore drive-ups, shall
be accomplished using flat-lens full-cutoff luminaires aimed straight
down and shielded in such a manner that the lowest opaque edge of
the luminaire shall be below the light source and its light-directing
surfaces, at all lateral angles around the luminaire. The average
maintained illumination in the area directly below the canopy shall
not exceed 20 initial footcandles, with no value exceeding 30 initial
footcandles.
(9)
Temporary residential holiday lighting is exempt from the requirements
of this section except as it creates a hazard or nuisance.
E.
Recreational uses. When facilities for such outdoor recreational
activities as baseball, tennis, football, miniature golf or any other
recreational use permitted under the Village's Zoning Ordinance[1] are specifically permitted by the Village for operation
during hours of darkness, the following requirements shall apply:
(1)
Lighting shall be accomplished only through the use of luminaires
conforming to full-cutoff criteria, or as otherwise approved by the
Village based on suitable control of glare and light trespass.
(2)
For new recreational facilities and for recreational facilities wishing
to change their hours of operation during hours of darkness, sporting
events shall be timed so that all lighting in the sports facility,
other than lighting for safe exit of patrons, is extinguished within
an hour after the end of the event.
(3)
Sports and recreational venues shall not be illuminated unless it
can be demonstrated that such lighting will not create a nuisance,
shine on or into any nearby residential properties or create visibility
issues for traffic on any nearby streets, roadways, or institutional
or commercial parking lots. In any case, if lighting is permitted
at these facilities, it shall not be accomplished by using any horizontally
aimed fixtures or floodlights nor shall these fixtures be aimed at
an angle greater than 45° from vertical.
(4)
The outdoor recreational activities listed below shall not be illuminated
if it causes glare that negatively impacts a residential district
or causes traffic concerns.
(5)
Maximum mounting heights for recreational lighting shall be in accordance
with the following:
F.
Street and parking lot lighting for residential applications. For
residential developments:
(1)
At the intersection of public roads with entrance roads to the development.
(2)
At the intersection of roads within the development.
(3)
At cul-de-sac bulb radii.
(4)
At terminal ends of center median islands having concrete structure
curbing, trees, signs or other fixed objects, and at cul-de-sac center
islands with curbing.
(5)
At defined pedestrian crossings located within the development.
(6)
At other locations along the street as deemed necessary by the Village
Board but in no case shall lighting fixtures be spaced more than 500
feet apart.
G.
Signs and billboards.
(1)
For the lighting of billboards and externally illuminated signs,
fixtures shall be designed, fitted and aimed to limit the light pattern
to the sign or billboard, so as not to project their output into the
windows of neighboring residences, adjacent uses, past the face of
the billboard or sign, skyward or onto a public roadway.
(2)
Billboards and externally illuminated signs shall be lighted by fixtures
mounted at the top of the billboard or sign and aimed downward.
(3)
Channel letter signs shall have dimming capability to allow adjustment
of sign brightness when required by the Village to accommodate local
ambient conditions.
(4)
The illumination of billboards shall be limited to commercial and
industrial zoning districts.
(5)
The illumination of billboards within 400 feet of a residential zone
or use shall not be permitted.
(6)
Rotating, flashing, pulsing, "marching" or oscillating light sources,
lasers, beacons or strobe lighting shall not be permitted.
(7)
The use of highly reflective signage that creates nuisance glare
or a safety hazard shall not be permitted.
(8)
The lighting or relighting of signs or billboards shall require a
building permit, which shall be granted only when the Village is satisfied
that excessive brightness, light pollution, glare and light trespass
have been mitigated to the extent possible.
(9)
Applications for the lighting or relighting of signs and billboards
shall be accompanied by a test report of maximum luminance on sign
or billboard face, catalog cuts of proposed fixtures and any glare-reduction
devices and a description of light sources, mounting locations, aiming
angles.
H.
Installation.
(1)
Electrical feeds for pole-mounted fixtures shall be run underground,
not overhead.
(2)
Poles supporting luminaires for the illumination of parking areas
and located within the parking area or directly behind parking spaces,
or where they could be hit by snow plows or wide-swinging vehicles,
shall be suitably protected by being placed a minimum of five feet
outside paved area or tire stops, or placed on concrete pedestals
at least 30 inches high above the pavement or suitably shielded by
steel bollards or suitably protected by other Village-approved means.
(3)
Pole-mounted fixtures shall be aimed straight down.
(4)
Mounting Heights. The following maximum fixture mounting heights
shall prevail:
(a)
Except as permitted for certain recreational lighting and permitted elsewhere in this Subsection H(4)(a), luminaires shall not be mounted in excess of 20 feet above finished grade of the surface being illuminated. Luminaires not meeting full-cutoff criteria shall not be mounted in excess of 16 feet. "Mounting height" shall be defined as the distance from the finished grade of the surface being illuminated to the optical center of the luminaire. Where proposed parking lots consist of 100 or more contiguous spaces, the Village may, at its sole discretion, based partially on mitigation of potential off-site impacts, allow a luminaire mounting height not to exceed 25 feet.
(b)
Mounting heights of 25 feet shall not be permitted when located
less than 100 feet from a residential district or use.
(5)
Pole foundations shall be designed and/or approved by a structural
or civil engineer taking into account luminaire projected areas, wind-loading
and local soil conditions.
I.
Post-installation inspection. The Village reserves the right to conduct
post-installation nighttime inspections to verify compliance with
the requirements of this article and approved plans and, if appropriate,
to require remedial action at no expense to the Village.
A.
Subdivision/land development. For subdivision and land-development
applications where site lighting is required by this article or otherwise
the Village, or proposed, lighting plans shall be submitted to the
Village for review and approval with any preliminary or final subdivision/land
development plan application and with any conditional use application.
The Village may also require that lighting plans be submitted for
building permit applications.
Lighting plans shall include:
(1)
A site plan, complete with all structures, parking spaces, building
entrances, traffic areas (both vehicular and pedestrian), vegetation
that might interfere with lighting, and adjacent uses that might be
adversely impacted by the lighting, containing a layout of all proposed
fixtures by location, mounting height and type. The submission shall
include, in addition to area lighting, exterior architectural, building-entrance,
landscape lighting, etc.
(2)
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 article or as otherwise required
by the Village.
(3)
The lamp lumen ratings and types, color temperature, maintenance
(light-loss) factors and file names used in calculating the illuminance
levels.
(4)
Description of the proposed equipment, including fixture catalog
cuts, photo metrics, glare-reduction devices, lamps, on/off control
devices, mounting heights, pole wind-loading conformance, foundation
pole details and mounting methods.
(5)
Landscaping plans shall contain 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.
B.
Visual-impact plan. When requested by the Village, the applicant
shall also submit a visual-impact plan that demonstrates appropriate
steps have been taken to mitigate on-site and off-site glare and to
retain the intended character of the area.
C.
Plan notes. The following notes shall appear on the lighting plan:
(1)
Post-approval alterations to lighting plans or intended substitutions
for specified lighting equipment on the approved plan shall be submitted
to the Village for review and approval prior to installation. Requests
for substitutions shall be accompanied by catalog cuts of the proposed
equipment that demonstrate the proposed substitution is equal to or
exceeds the optical quality and maintainability of the specified luminaires;
and accompanied by a lighting plan, including a point-by-point plot,
which demonstrates that proposed substitutions will result in a lighting
design that equals or exceeds the quality of the lighting on the approved
plan.
(2)
The Village reserves the right to conduct post-installation nighttime
inspections to verify compliance with the requirements of this article
and as otherwise agreed upon by the Village and, if appropriate, to
require remedial action at no expense to the Village.
(3)
The installer shall notify appropriate officers or agents to arrange
for inspection and approval of all exterior lighting equipment, including
building-mounted lighting, prior to its installation.
(4)
All exterior lighting, including building-mounted lighting, shall
meet full-cutoff or fully shielded criteria unless otherwise specifically
approved by the Village (Table 1).
D.
Table 1: Illumination levels.
(1)
Illumination, where required by this article, shall have intensities
and uniformity ratios in accordance with the current recommended practices
of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Lighting
Handbook, from which typical uses and tasks are herein presented.
|
Table 1: Illumination Levels
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Use/Task
|
Maintained Footcandles
|
Uniformity Average: Minimum
|
|
Streets, local residential (when required by the Village Board)
|
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 athletic/civic/cultural events
|
0.9 minimum
|
4:1
|
|
Medium activity, e.g., community shopping centers,
office parks, hospitals, commuter lots, cultural/civic/recreational
events
|
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
|
—
|
|
Service station pump islands avg./max
|
20/30
|
4:1
|
|
Car dealerships front row/other sales areas
|
20/10 maximum
|
5:1 maximum: minimum
|
|
NOTES:
| |
|
1.
|
Illumination levels are maintained horizontal footcandles on
the task, e.g., pavement or area surface.
|
|
2.
|
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 (0.9 x 4).
|
A.
Any lighting fixture or lighting installation legally installed and
operative before the date of adoption of this article shall be considered
as a lawful nonconformance subject to the following:
(1)
Nonconforming lighting shall not be changed to any other nonconforming
lighting, structurally altered, altered an any way that increases
its degree of nonconformance, expanded or extended in scope;
(2)
Unless minor corrective action, such as redirecting or shielding,
is deemed by the Village to be an acceptable alternative, a nonconforming
lighting fixture or lighting installation shall be made to conform
with the applicable requirements of this article when:
(3)
Regardless of the requirements of § 205-48A(1), above, lawful/nonconforming lighting fixtures and lighting installations shall be made to conform with the requirements of this article or removed within 12 months from the effective date of this article or nonconformance determination.
A.
Safety hazards. If appropriate officers or agents of the Village judge a lighting installation, including lighting poles, creates a safety or personal-security hazard, the person(s) responsible for the lighting shall be notified in writing and required to take remedial action. If appropriate corrective action has not been effected within 90 days of written notification, the Village may commence legal action as provided in §§ 205-50 and 205-51, below.
B.
Nuisance glare and inadequate illumination levels.
(1)
If appropriate officers or agents of the Village judge an installation
produces unacceptable levels of nuisance glare, skyward light, excessive
or insufficient illumination levels or otherwise varies from this
article, the Village may cause written notification of the person(s)
responsible for the lighting and require appropriate remedial action.
(2)
Any person filing a complaint against an existing installation must
submit such complaints in writing and include the name and property
address of the location that is the subject of the complaint and description
of the complaint. The name of the person filing the complaint will
stay confidential but is required in the formal complaint document.
(4)
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of § 205-46 hereof, or control of nuisance and disabling glare, shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the Village by either seeking mitigation of nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
A.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Village before a Municipal Court, pay a fine of not
more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys'
fees, incurred by the Village in the enforcement of this article.
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until
the date of the determination of the violation by the Municipal Court.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Village may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules
of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a
separate offense.
B.
The appropriate officers or agents of the Village are hereby authorized
to seek legal and/or equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce
compliance with this article.
This article shall take effect five days after adoption by the
Village, effective July 16, 2020.
