(a)
Purpose.
Good outdoor lighting at night benefits everyone and enhances
the City’s nighttime character. New lighting technologies have
produced lights that are extremely powerful, and these types of lights
may be improperly installed so that they create problems of excessive
glare and light trespass that reduce residents’ privacy. Excessive
glare can be annoying and may cause safety problems. There is a need
for lighting regulations that recognizes the benefits of good outdoor
lighting and provides clear guidelines for its installation so as
to help maintain and complement the City’s character and which
strives to provide linkage between the built and natural environment
and acknowledges and sustains the unique nature of the City’s
corporate-commercial, suburban and rural lifestyles. Appropriately
regulated, and properly installed, outdoor lighting will contribute
to the safety and welfare of the residents of the City.
(b)
Objectives.
Outdoor lighting for nonresidential uses and multifamily uses
has the following objectives:
(1)
It
is intended to reduce the problems created by improperly designed
and installed outdoor lighting in those areas zoned for nonresidential
uses and multifamily uses;
(2)
It
is intended to eliminate problems of glare and minimize light trespass
by establishing regulations which limit the area that certain types
of outdoor light fixtures can illuminate and by limiting the total
allowable illumination of lots located in the City;
(3)
All
lighting installed in nonresidential uses and multifamily uses should
be designed with the idea of being a good neighbor, thereby eliminating
or reducing unnecessary direct light from shining onto abutting properties
or streets;
(4)
It
is the declared purpose of this division that nonconforming luminaries
be eliminated and be required to conform to the regulations of this
division within a reasonable time.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
New
fixtures or additional lighting.
This division shall
apply to all installations of new fixtures or additional lighting
to any new or existing nonresidential or multifamily use or structure.
(b)
Nonconforming
Lighting.
Luminaries installed prior to the adoption of the Ordinance from which this division is derived shall immediately be re-aimed or shielded such that the fixture no longer creates a nuisance as defined in Article II SECTION 201.1. Shielding may be accomplished by louvers, baffles, visors, or shields placed on the luminaries, or any other method whereby the light therefrom does not constitute a nuisance as defined in ARTICLE II SECTION 201.1.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
The enforcement of the rules and the provisions of this division
shall be by the City Manager or his designee.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
Metering
Equipment.
Lighting levels shall be measured in footcandles
with a direct-reading, portable light meter.
(b)
Method
of footcandle measurement.
The meter sensor shall be
not more than six (6) inches above ground level in a horizontal position.
The reading shall be taken only after the cell has been exposed long
enough to provide a constant reading.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
The following lighting is prohibited. No owner or occupant of
land shall permit any of the following conditions to exist:
(a)
An unshielded
light source, including bare bulbs, above 600 lumens, except for temporary
seasonal lighting;
(b)
The
operation of searchlights, strobes, or pulsating lights;
(c)
The
use of low pressure sodium bulbs as a light source;
(d)
The
use of a partial cutoff light source;
(e)
The
use of a drop lens;
(f)
Luminaires
located within the compatibility buffer between dissimilar uses;
(g)
Any
luminaire that produces a disability glare;
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
Maximum height for light pole standards shall be as follows:
(a)
In parking
areas containing zero (0) to one hundred fifty (150) parking spaces,
maximum height of lighting pole standards shall not exceed twenty-five
(25) feet.
(b)
In parking
areas containing one hundred fifty-one (151) or more parking spaces,
maximum height of lighting pole standards shall not exceed thirty-five
(35) feet.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
All building mounted luminaires exceeding six hundred (600)
lumens shall be directed down with a full cutoff fixture.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
Luminaires
used for floodlighting shall not direct the luminance above the facade
of the object being lighted.
(b)
Spotlights
and floodlights mounted overhead on poles or building walls and used
for area lighting, including but not limited to residential areas,
shall be installed so that the fixture is full cutoff as defined herein,
with no light above ninety (90) degree nadir.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
At all building entry points average projected footcandle readings
as determined by the point method photometrics shall not exceed a
measurement of five (5) footcandles.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
All canopy lighting shall be fully recessed fixtures with full
cutoff lens and shall not exceed forty-five (45) footcandles at any
point under the canopy.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
In parking
areas containing zero (0) to one hundred fifty (150) parking spaces,
minimum spacing of lighting pole standards shall be no less than two
times the height of the standard.
(b)
In parking
areas containing one hundred fifty-one (151) or more parking spaces,
minimum spacing of lighting pole standards shall be no less than four
times the height of the light standard, a ratio of four (4) to one
(1).
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
Parking area lighting shall not exceed a measurement of fifteen
(15) footcandles at any point in the parking area. The average projected
footcandle reading as determined by the point method photometrics
shall not exceed two (2) footcandles.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
Any
person violating any provision of this division shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
a fine as set by the City. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
of [on] each day during or on which a violation or failure to comply
occurs or continues to occur.
(b)
A footcandle
reading, as performed in accordance with ARTICLE V DIVISION 4 SECTION
540.4, in excess of those amounts defined in ARTICLE V DIVISION 4
SECTIONS 540.5 through 541.2, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation
of this division.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
(a)
A variance
as to the height restriction may be permitted by the Zoning Board
of Adjustment for the replacement of luminaries installed prior to
the adoption of the Ordinance from which this division is derived
if such luminaires are damaged, destroyed, or otherwise become inoperable.
(b)
A variance
is permissible for such replacement luminaries only in those situations
where more than one luminaire existed prior to the adoption of the
Ordinance from which this division is derived. The Zoning Board of
Adjustment may grant a variance, upon application by the property
owner or his designee, if the Zoning Board of Adjustment determines
that the replacement of a damaged, destroyed, or otherwise inoperable
luminaire with a luminaire conforming to the height requirement set
forth in this division would:
(2)
Be
aesthetically inconsistent with the remaining luminaires[;] in determining
whether a replacement luminaire would be aesthetically inconsistent,
the Zoning Board of Adjustment may consider the following factors:
(3)
Under
no circumstances may the replacement luminaire exceed thirty-five
(35) feet in height.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
For spotlights and floodlights mounted at or near ground level
and used to light a building wall, sign, or other structure, the axis
of illumination shall be adjusted to minimize the amount of light
escaping above, below, and to the side of the illuminated object.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
Landscape lighting installed for nonresidential uses and multifamily
uses shall be installed according to the following:
(a)
Any
lighting that is to be placed in the canopy of a tree shall be directed
in a downward position to simulate natural light received by the area.
(b)
The
fixture shall be shielded so that all of the light is directed downward
and shall not be directed toward the tree, to reduce light intrusion.
(c)
All
proposed lighting that is to be placed in a tree shall be affixed
to the trunk or branch through the use of an adjustable bracketing
system that will allow for the continued growth of the tree.
(d)
The
mounting height of landscape lighting shall not exceed twenty-five
(25) feet.
(e)
No lighting
shall be bolted, nailed, or glued to the trunk or any appendages of
the tree, and such unauthorized attachment will be treated as a violation.
(Ordinance 6051-12 adopted 5/17/12)
