[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Medford Lakes 9-22-2021 by Ord. No. 682. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate outdoor lighting in a manner which encourages the conservation of energy, improves or maintains the nighttime visual environment, prevents and/or eliminates misdirected or excessive artificial light, light trespass and/or unnecessary sky glow and protects the health, safety, security and welfare of Borough residents and the general public.
A. 
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FOOTCANDLE
The amount of light from one candle at one foot from the source of the light.
GLARE
Any artificial light which shines with a strong, steady or dazzling light.
LAND
Comprehending not only buildings but the ground, soil or earth as commonly understood.
STRUCTURE
A dwelling, garage, pole or elevated object or a building or other structured improvement on any premises of such physical size as to be capable of having attached thereto or incorporated thereon, on the exterior, artificial lighting by means of electrical, gas or other luminescent fixtures.
B. 
Restrictions on light sources facing neighboring property.
(1) 
No artificial lighting shall shine directly upon any neighboring property or be so established that it shall shine directly upon any neighboring property or shall shine directly on or into any room or rooms, porches or patios of any neighboring property, nor shall any artificial lighting be maintained or operated from any structure or land in such a manner as to be a nuisance or an annoyance to neighboring properties or as to interfere with the physical comfort of the occupants of neighboring properties.
(2) 
Lights directly facing a neighboring property shall be shielded.
(3) 
No sources of light shall be maintained or operated in connection with any building or land in any manner or by any process or method which transmits an objectionable glare on neighboring property.
(4) 
In no instance will any glare be permitted if such glare originates from a light source facing any dwelling unit.
(5) 
The light intensity from illumination of any kind at any given location along the property line from which the light originates shall not exceed 0.2 footcandle. Any light intensity that exceeds this provision shall be considered a nuisance in violation of this section.
A. 
All outdoor parking areas, driveways, pedestrianways and walks, entrances and yard areas shall be illuminated using full cutoff luminaires except if/as otherwise permitted herein.
B. 
Outdoor light poles and/or luminaires upon properties other than those zoned for or containing exactly one single-family dwelling shall be no closer than seven feet to side and rear lot lines and no closer than 22 feet to a front lot line, except that in no case shall a light pole and/or luminaire be located within 25 feet of a residentially zoned or residentially used property.
C. 
Outdoor lighting in all nonresidential land use zones shall be directed toward, and confined to, ground areas of walks, driveways, parking lots and lawns. Illuminance levels of light spillage shall not exceed 0.25 footcandle at any property boundary line, except that light spillage upon any residentially zoned or residentially used property shall not exceed 0.06 footcandle.
D. 
Parking lot illuminance levels on all nonresidentially developed properties containing four or more parking lot luminaires must be reduced by at least 50% of full operational levels within 30 minutes after the close of business; provided, however, that a minimum level of horizontal illuminance of 0.20 footcandle shall be maintained within such parking areas at all times.
E. 
Maximum allowable mounting heights for outdoor light fixtures shall be as follows:
(1) 
Sixteen feet to the top of the fixture when the light fixture is located upon a nonresidentially used site which is either:
(a) 
Adjacent to or directly across a street from a property zoned for, or containing, exactly one single-family residence; or
(b) 
Located within, or within 75 feet of, a single-family residential land use zone.
(2) 
Twenty-four feet when the light fixture is located upon a nonresidential site smaller than two acres in total area and which is not subject to Subsection E(1)(a) above and the light fixture or mounting pole is within 15 feet of a boundary line of the site;
(3) 
Twenty-eight feet or the height of the building, whichever is less, when the light fixture is located upon a nonresidential site which is not subject to Subsection E(1)(a) above and the light fixture or mounting pole is located farther than 15 feet from a boundary line of the site; or
(4) 
No height limitation, provided:
(a) 
The lighting is capped or focused such that the bulb is not visible from any property line;
(b) 
Is at an angle of 45° or less to the ground; and
(c) 
Has a zero footcandle reading at all property lines.
F. 
Foundations and/or structural support of outdoor commercial lighting installations shall be stable for on-site soil conditions and anticipated wind and ice loads. The upper portion of any light pole foundation which projects, vertically, above finished grade shall be sized no larger than necessary to adequately support the light pole assembly and accommodate its mounting hardware, regardless of the design size of its subsurface component(s). Where a pole-mounted site light will be installed directly within a parking field, or within three feet of the edge of a head-in parking stall, its foundation shall be of reinforced concrete and shall extend, vertically, a minimum of 36 inches above adjacent finished grade. Mounting pole length shall be as required to elevate the mounted light fixture(s) to design mounting height(s). All permanently exposed concrete surfaces of light pole foundations shall be finished with a rubbed finish as follows:
(1) 
Remove form;
(2) 
Patch holes, depressions, voids, and honeycombs by chipping away coarse or broken material until a dense uniform surface of concrete exposing solid coarse aggregate is obtained, saturating surfaces of deficient areas with water, filling with a stiff mortar and finishing the surface of the mortar with a wooden float before initial set takes place;
(3) 
Rub exposed concrete surfaces with a wetted wooden block or a medium coarse carborundum stone, using a small amount of mortar on its face (Note: Do not use the carborundum stone until the concrete has hardened to the state where the sand grinds rather than ravels or rolls.);
(4) 
Continue rubbing until form marks, projections, and irregularities have been removed, voids are filled, and a uniform surface of paste produced by the rubbing has been obtained;
(5) 
After the paste has dried, obtain the final finish by rubbing with a fine carborundum stone and water until the entire surface is of a smooth texture and uniform color.
A. 
Any residential outdoor lighting shall be turned off or operate solely on motion sensors past 12:00 midnight and through to dawn. Any lighting found to be in violation of this restriction shall be permitted a grace period of 90 days from the date of initial notice issued by the Code Enforcement Officer or police to come into compliance with this restriction. If any resident can demonstrate a financial hardship to the Code Enforcement Officer, the Code Enforcement Officer may allow additional periods of 90 days each to come into compliance before issuing a formal notice of violation and citation. This time restriction shall apply to outdoor string lights or bistro lighting; however, the allowance for additional time due to hardship shall not apply as such lighting is not for security, is not hardwired, and can be manually unplugged.
B. 
Exception. Any light that is located at the primary point of ingress or egress to a residential structure, such as a porchlight, shall not be subject to the time limit set forth above.
All municipal and Medford Lakes Colony Club properties shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to all public buildings, Oaks Hall, the sewer plant, the firehouse, the public works facility, all ballfields and parks, the Craft Building, and Vaughan Hall. In addition, these provisions shall not apply to any lighting associated with the weekends of the annual Laker Lights event and the Canoe Carnival event.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement Official and/or the Medford Lakes Police Department.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable in accord with the General Penalty provision of this Code at § 1-15, as determined in the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge. The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall constitute a separate offense.