(A) Street lighting exempted. This section shall not apply to:
(1) Street lighting that is owned, financed or maintained by the township or the state or that is required to be placed by the township; or
(2) A routine individual porch light of a dwelling (not including a directional spot light or flood light).
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
FULL CUTOFF. Attribute of a light fixture from which:
(a) No light is emitted at or above a horizontal plane drawn through the bottom of the fixture; and
(b) No more than 10% of the lamp’s intensity is emitted at or above an angle ten degrees below that horizontal plane, at all lateral angles around the fixture.
FULLY SHIELDED. Attribute of a light fixture that is provided with internal devices and/or external shields or louvers to prevent brightness from the luminaire from causing glare at normal viewing angles.
GLARE. Excessive brightness in the field of view that is sufficiently greater than the brightness to which eyes are adapted, which causes annoyance or loss in visual performance and visibility so as to jeopardize healthy, safety or public welfare.
(C) Height of lights. No luminaire, spotlight or other light source that is within 200 feet of a lot line of an existing dwelling or approved residential lot shall be placed at a height exceeding 25 feet above the average surrounding ground level. This limitation shall not apply to lights needed for air safety nor lights intended solely to illuminate an architectural feature of a building, nor lighting of outdoor public recreation facilities or a ski resort.
(D) Diffusion and shielding.
(1) All light sources, including signs, shall be properly shielded, aimed and diffused, as needed with a translucent or similar cover to prevent exposed bulbs from being directly visible from streets, public sidewalks, dwellings or adjacent lots.
(2) All light sources, including signs, shall be shielded around the light source and carefully directed and placed to prevent the lighting from creating a nuisance to reasonable persons in adjacent dwellings, and to prevent the lighting from shining into the eyes of passing motorists.
(E) Flickering. Flashing, flickering or strobe lighting are prohibited, except for non-advertising seasonal lights between October 25 and January 10.
(F) Spillover. Exterior lighting on an institutional, commercial or industrial property shall not cause a spillover of light onto a residential lot that exceeds 0.5 horizontal foot-candle at a distance ten feet inside the residential lot line.
(G) Canopies. Any canopy over gasoline pumps, bank drive-through, drugstore or fast-food facility shall have flat-lens light fixtures recessed into the canopy or screened by an extension around the bottom of the canopy so that lighting elements are not visible from another lot or street.
(H) Lighting of horizontal surfaces. For the lighting of predominantly horizontal surfaces such as parking areas and vehicle sales areas, lighting fixtures shall be aimed downward and shall include full cut-off measures as needed to properly direct the light and to meet the maximum spillover requirements of division (F) above and to prevent glare onto streets. The township may require that light fixtures for nonresidential uses be placed along the street and be aimed away from the street in a manner that also minimizes light shining onto residential lots.
(I) Lighting of non-horizontal surfaces. For lighting of predominantly non-horizontal surfaces such building walls and wall signs, lighting fixtures shall be fully shielded and shall be aimed so as to not project light towards neighboring residences or past the object being illuminated or skyward. Any lighting of a flag shall use a beam no wider than necessary to illuminate the flag. Lighting of a billboard should be attached to the top of the billboard and project downward. However, lighting shall be allowed of the United States flag from dusk to dawn, provided the light source shall have a beam spread no greater than necessary to illuminate the flag.
(K) Pole protection. Poles supporting lighting fixtures within or less than five feet directly behind parking spaces, shall be protected by being placed on concrete pedestals at least 30 inches high or suitably protected by other approved means such as by the use of steel bollards.
(L) Illumination levels. Outdoor lighting of business, apartment and institutional parking areas shall have sufficient lighting for safety purposes during hours when the parking area in is use. If more than five acres of new commercial development is proposed, then the applicant shall also provide evidence that the use will meet the minimum and maximum illumination levels and uniformity ratios recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America in its most recent published standards.
(Ord. 126, passed 3-18-2010)