The purpose of this section is to regulate the placement, orientation, distribution patterns and fixture types of outdoor lighting in the Commercial, Office Building and Industrial Districts and all nonresidential conditional uses in the Country Home District.
(a) Exterior Lighting Plan. A lighting plan is required for all uses that are required to file a development plan and shall be approved according to the procedures set forth in Chapter 1258, Administrative Procedures. All existing uses on which exterior lighting is installed or changed shall conform to these standards. The lighting plan shall demonstrate compliance with the exterior lighting standards of this section, and shall include the items in subsection 1258.05(e)(10).
(b) Appropriate site lighting, including lights for signs, buildings and streets, shall be arranged so as to:
(1) Provide safety, utility and security.
(2) Control light trespass and glare on adjacent properties and public roadways.
(3) Reduce atmospheric light pollution.
(c) General Requirements.
(1) All outdoor lighting fixtures regulated according to this section, including but not limited to those used for parking areas, vehicular use areas, buildings, building overhangs, canopies, signs, displays and landscaping, shall be full cut-off type fixtures, unless exempt per subsection 1298.11(d).
A. Full-cutoff fixtures shall be installed and maintained so that the shielding is effective as described in subsection 1298.03(a)(5) above.
B. Automobile-oriented uses such as gasoline stations, service stations and drive-through facilities shall install recessed ceiling fixtures in any canopy.
C. Signs that are wholly illuminated from within and freestanding signs that are externally illuminated with an exposed incandescent lamp not exceeding twenty-five watts do not require shielding.
(2) Light trespass at a property line shall be limited to no more than 1.0 footcandles at the property line. All on-site lighting of buildings, lawns, parking areas and signs shall be designed so as not to shine onto any adjacent residential property or building, or to cause glare onto any public street or vehicle thereon.
(3) Measurement.
A. Light levels shall be measured in footcandles with a direct reading, portable light meter. Readings shall be taken only after the cell has been exposed long enough to take a constant reading.
B. Measurements shall be taken at the applicable property line, along a horizontal plane at a height of three and one-half feet above the ground.
(4) All non-essential outdoor lighting fixtures, including parking, sign, display and aesthetic lighting, shall be turned off after business hours. Only that lighting needed for safety or security may remain lit after close of business, in which case the lighting shall be reduced to the minimum level necessary.
(d) Exemptions.
(1) Decorative outdoor lighting fixtures with bulbs of less than twenty-five watts, installed seasonally, are exempt from the requirements of this section.
(2) Temporary construction or emergency lighting is exempt from the requirements of this section. Such lighting shall be discontinued immediately upon completion of the construction work or abatement of the emergency necessitating such lighting.
(3) All outdoor lighting fixtures existing and legally installed prior to the effective date of this Zoning Code shall be exempt from the requirements of this section. When existing lighting fixtures become inoperative, their replacements are subject to the provisions of this section.
(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to lighting required by the FAA or any other federal regulatory authority.
(Ord. 2009-17. Passed 9-15-2009.)