(a) Illumination Levels. Lighting, where required by this Ordinance or otherwise required by the City shall have intensities and uniformity ratios in accordance with the recommended practices of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Lighting Handbook, 9th edition, Chapters 21 & 22. (i.e., Minimum Average = 0.5 fc; Minimum = 0.1 fc; Uniformity = 6:1) 2. Future editions to said Lighting Handbook and Recommended Practices shall become a part of this Ordinance without further action by the City.
(b) Lighting Fixture Design.
(1) Street lighting supplied with unmetered electric service shall meet the specifications of the electric utility.
(2) Lighting fixtures for Building entrances, sidewalks, paths, site entrances, and parking areas shall be aimed straight down and shall be full cutoff or fully shielded. For the use of reflector lamps, a maximum of 14,000 center-beam-candlepower (CBCP) shall be permitted.
(3) For the lighting of non-horizontal surfaces such as, but not limited to, facades, Landscaping, signs, fountains, displays, flags and statuary, the use of lighting fixtures that are not full cutoff or fully shielded, shall be permitted only with the approval of City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, based upon acceptable shielding and other glare control. At a minimum, shielding shall render the light source not visible from neighboring properties.
(4) Barn lights (i.e., fixtures which are not full-cutoff, or cutoff, but which have a diffuser which transmits the light at angles above full-cutoff or cutoff angles) shall not be permitted where they are visible from other uses unless fitted with a reflector or other device to render them fully shielded or full cutoff.
(c) Control of Nuisance and Disabling Glare (Excessive Brightness in the Field of View).
(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) Floodlights and spotlights that are not full-cutoff or fully shielded, where specifically approved by the municipality, shall be so installed and aimed that they do not project their output into the windows of neighboring properties, adjacent uses, past the object being illuminated, skyward or onto a public roadway. Authorities having jurisdiction shall take specific care to ensure this criterion by requiring submission of photometric plots of the illuminated surface and its surroundings.
(3) Unless otherwise permitted by the City (e.g., for safety or security or all-night commercial operations) lighting for commercial, public Recreational and institutional applications shall be controlled by programmable timers that accommodate seasonal and annual variations and battery or mechanical (e.g., spring-wound) backup, to permit extinguishing sources between 11:00 p.m. and dawn or within 1-hour of the close of business, whichever is earlier, to conserve energy and to mitigate nuisance glare and sky-lighting consequences.
(4) Security lighting proposed for use after 11:00 p.m. or after the normal hours of operation for commercial, industrial, institutional or municipal applications, shall be accomplished using no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of fixtures used during normal business hours, from then until the start of business in the morning. Alternatively, where reduced but continued activity requires even illumination, the use of dimming circuitry to reduce illumination levels by seventy-five percent (75%) after 11:00 p.m. or after normal business hours, shall be permitted.
(5) 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. Vegetation screens shall not be employed to serve as the primary means for controlling glare, except that the use of dense evergreen hedges, such as yew or juniper, to shield ground-mounted Floodlights may be used with signs up to fifteen (15) feet in height, provided such planting is maintained in a manner that shields the fixture from view of traffic and pedestrians at an angle below forty-five (45) degrees above horizontal.
(6) The level of illumination projected onto a residential use from another property shall not exceed 0.1 initial horizontal footcandle, at the property line. The level of illumination projected onto a non-residential use shall not exceed 1.0 initial horizontal footcandle at the property line.
(7) Directional fixtures for such applications as façade, fountain, feature, and landscape illumination shall be aimed so as not to project their output beyond the objects intended to be illuminated, shall meet requirements stated above with respect to light trespass, shall be extinguished between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and dawn and shall not be in conflict with the principles stated throughout this Ordinance.
(8) Only the United States Flag and the West Virginia 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. Flag lighting sources shall not exceed 7,000 lumens per flagpole.
(9) 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 FAA.
(10) Canopy lighting, for such applications as gas/service stations, bank, drugstore and fast-food drive-thru, shall be accomplished using flat-lens full-cutoff fixtures aimed straight down and shielded in such a manner that the lowest opaque edge of the fixture shall be level with or below the light source.
(11) Temporary residential holiday lighting is exempt from the requirements of this Section except as it creates a hazard or nuisance.
(d) Recreational Uses.
(1) When facilities for such outdoor Recreational activities as baseball, tennis, football, miniature golf or any other Recreational use permitted under the City’s Zoning Ordinance, are specifically permitted by the municipality for operation during hours of darkness, the following requirements shall apply:
A. Lighting shall be accomplished only through the use of fixtures conforming to IESNA criteria, or as otherwise approved by the municipality based on suitable control of glare and light trespass. Flood-lighting for sports or Recreational facilities shall not be aimed above a beam-center angle of forty-five (45) degrees from vertical, nor shall the level of illumination on neighboring properties exceed the limits specified in subsection (c)(6).
B. For new Recreational facilities and existing 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, shall be extinguished by 11:00 p.m., regardless of such occurrences as extra innings or overtimes.
C. Trap shooting facilities, golf driving ranges and racetracks 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 be visible to 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 a beam-center angle greater than forty-five (45) degrees from vertical.
D. The outdoor Recreational activities listed in subparagraph e., below shall not be illuminated if located within any residential district or sited on a nonresidential property located within 1,200 feet of a residential use.
E. Maximum mounting heights for Recreational lighting shall be in accordance with the following (Note, regulations apply to non-tournament Recreational uses. Tournament and high school facilities may require increased heights. For tournament and high school level applications use the standards contained in the IESNA Lighting Handbook, 9th edition, Chapters 21 & 22, and relevant IESNA recommended practices.):
1. Basketball: 30’ 10 fc.
2. Football:70’ 20 fc.
3. Soccer: 70’ 20 fc.
4. Baseball: 70’ 20 fc infield; 15 fc outfield.
5. Youth Baseball:
a. 200’ Radius 60’ 20 fc infield; 15 fc outfield.
b. 300’ Radius 70’ 20 fc infield; 15 fc outfield.
6. Miniature Golf: 15’ 10 fc.
7. Tennis: 30’ 20 fc.
8. Track: 30’ 15 fc.
9. Swimming Pool :20’ 10 fc.
(e) Street and Parking Lot Lighting for Residential Applications.
(1) For residential Developments where Lot sizes are or average less than 20,000 square feet, Street lighting shall be provided as follows:
A. At the Intersection of public Roads with entrance Roads to the Development.
B. At the Intersection of Roads within the Development.
C. At Cul-de-sac bulb radii.
D. 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.
E. At defined pedestrian crossings located within the Development.
F. At other locations along the Street as deemed necessary by City Engineer/Planning Director or designee.
G. Where Lot sizes permit the parking of less than two (2) vehicles on the Lot, thereby necessitating on-Street parking, Street lighting shall be provided along the length of the Street, in accordance with the illuminance requirements contained in subsection (a) above.
H. In multi-family Developments, common parking areas shall be illuminated in accordance with the luminance requirements contained in subsection (a) above.
(2) In residential Developments with Lots of less than 20,000 square feet, where six (6) or more contiguous parking spaces are proposed, such spaces shall be illuminated in accordance with the luminance requirements contained in subsection (a), above.
(3) Lighting fixtures for parking Lots and roadways in residential Developments shall be mounted not more than fourteen (14) feet above finished grade.
(f) Installation.
(1) Pole-mounted fixtures for roadways, pedestrian Walkways, parking Lots, and similar uses shall be aimed straight down.
(2) Mounting Heights. The following maximum fixture mounting heights shall prevail:
A. Full-cutoff fixtures with 44,000 lumen lamps maximum, in parking Lots: twenty (20) foot AFG.
B. Full-cutoff fixtures with 115,000 lumen lamps maximum, shall be permitted only in large (100 spaces or more) commercial, institutional and industrial parking Lots except when the facility as adjacent to a residential district or use or an environmentally sensitive area: not less that twenty-five (25) feet or more than thirty (30) feet AFG. Mounting heights of twenty-five to thirty (25 – 30) feet shall not be permitted when located less than one hundred (100) feet from a residential district or use.
C. Decorative–cutoff or fully shielded fixtures with 17,500 lumen lamps maximum: 16’ AFG.
D. Fully-shielded bollard fixtures with 6,200 lumen lamps maximum: 42” AFG.
E. Recreational Use. See subsection (d) above.
(g) Post-Installation Inspection.
(1) The City reserves the right to conduct post-installation nighttime inspections to verify compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance and approved plans, and if appropriate, to require remedial action at no expense to the City.
(Ord. 2022-13. Passed 11-10-22.)