UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP
CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ORDINANCE NO. 99-9
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP ZONING ORDINANCE OF 1994 REGULATING OUTDOOR LIGHTING WITHIN UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP.
BE IT HEREBY ORDAINED and ENACTED by the Board of Supervisors of Uwchlan Township, Chester County, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as follows:
Section I Article 6 of the Uwchlan Township Zoning Ordinance of 1994, as amended, (the Zoning Ordinance") is hereby amended by adding the following new Section
615:
SECTION 615- LIGHTING
A. Purpose
1 - To establish minimum standards for outdoor lighting to:
a. Provide lighting in outdoor-public places where public health, safety and welfare are potential concerns.
b. Protect drivers and pedestrians from the glare of non-vehicular light sources that shine into their eyes and thereby impair safe traverse.
c. Protect neighbors and the night sky from nuisance glare and stray light from incorrectly aimed., placed, applied, maintained or shielded light sources.
B. Applicability
1.. where required or permitted by the Zoning Ordinance or other Township Ordinances or requirements, outdoor lighting shall be provided for safety and personal security in areas of public assembly and traverse; including but not limited to the following:; multi-family residential, commercial, industrial, public-recreational and institutional uses.
2. The Board of Supervisors may require lighting to be incorporated for other uses or locations, as it deems necessary.
3. The glare-control requirements herein contained apply to lighting in all above-mentioned uses as well as, but not limited to, sign, architectural, landscaping and residential lighting.
C. Criteria
I Illumination Levels
a. Lighting, where required by this Ordinance, shall have intensities and uniformity ratios in accordance with the current recommended practices of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) as contained in the IESNA Lighting handbook.
b. Future amendments to said recommended practices shall become a part of this Section 615 without further amendment.
c. Examples of intensities for typical outdoor applications, as extracted from the 8th Edition of the Lighting Handbook, are presented below.
| Use/Task | Maintained Footcandles | Uniformity Ratio - Avg:Min. |
| Streets, local residential | 0.4 Avg. |
6:1 |
| Streets, local commercial | 0.9 Avg. |
6:1 |
| Parking, residential, multi-family | ||
Low Vehicular/pedestrian activity |
0.2 Min. |
4:1 |
| Medium vehicular/pedestrian activity | 0.6 Min. |
4:1 |
| Parking, Industrial /commercial /institutional /municipal | ||
High activity, e.g., regional Shopping centers/fast food facilities, major athletic /civic /cultural events |
0.9 Min. |
4:1 |
Medium activity, e.g., community shopping centers, office parks, hospitals, commuter lots, cultural /civic/ recreational events |
0.6 Min. |
4:1 |
Low activity, e.g., neighborhood shopping, industrial employee parking, schools, church parking |
0.2 Min. |
4:1 |
| Walkways and Bikeways | 0.5 Avg. |
5:1 |
| Building entrances | 5.0 Avg. |
- |
Notes: 1. Illumination levels are maintained horizontal footcandles on the task, e.g., pavement or area surface.
2. Uniformity ratios dictate that average illuminance values shall not exceed minimum values by more than the product of the minimum value and the specified ratio. E.g., for commercial parking high activity, the average footcandles shall not be in excess of 3.6 (0.9 x4)
2. Lighting Fixture Design
a. Fixtures shall. be of a type and design appropriate to the lighting application and aesthetically acceptable to the Board of Supervisors
b. For lighting horizontal tasks such as roadways, pathways, and parking areas, fixtures shall meet 'IESNA "full cutoff' criteria.
c. For non-horizontal tasks, the use of floodlighting, spotlighting, wall-mounted fixtures, decorative globes and other fixtures not meeting IESNA "full. cutoff' criteria shall. be permitted only with the approval of the Board of Supervisors or its designee, based upon acceptable glare control.
d. Fixtures shall be equipped with or be capable of being backfitted with light directing devices such as shields, visors or hoods when necessary to redirect offending light distribution.
3 Control. of Nuisance and Disabling Glare
a. All outdoor lighting, whether or not required by this Ordinance; on private, residential, commercial, industrial, municipal, recreational or institutional property; 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, i.e., disabling glare, and so as not to create a nuisance by projecting or reflecting objectionable light onto a neighboring use or property, i.e., nuisance glare.
b. Floodlights and spotlights, when permitted, shall be so installed or aimed that they do not project their output into the windows of neighboring residences, adjacent uses, directly skyward or onto a roadway.
c. Unless the Board of Supervisors specifically approves all-night lighting, e.g., for safety or security, lighting shall be controlled by automatic switching devices such as time clocks or combination motion detectors and photocells, to permit extinguishing lighting between 11 p.m. and dawn.
d. Where all-night safety or security lighting is to be provided, the lighting intensity levels shall not exceed 25% of the levels normally permitted by this Ordinance for the use.
e. Vegetation screens shall not be employed to serve as the primary means for controlling glare. Rather 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.
f. The intensity of illumination projected onto a residential use from another property shall not exceed 0.1 vertical footcandle, measured at thirty inches above the ground at the property line.
g. Externally illuminated signs shall be lighted by fixtures mounted at the top of the sign and aimed downward.
h. Except as otherwise permitted in this Section 615, fixtures meeting IESNA "full cutoff criteria shall not be mounted in excess of twenty (20) feet above finished grade. Fixtures not meeting IESNA full cutoff criteria shall not be mounted in excess of sixteen (16) feet above grade except as specifically approved by the Board of Supervisors.
i. Fixtures used for architectural lighting, e.g., facade, fountain, feature and landscape lighting, shall be designed, fitted and aimed so as not to project their output beyond the objects intended to be illuminated.
4. Installation
a. Electrical feeds for lighting standards shall be run underground, not overhead
b. Lighting standards to the rear of the parking spaces shall be placed a minimum of five (5) feet outside paved areas or suitably protected by other means approved by the Board. of Supervisors
5. Maintenance
a. Lighting fixtures and ancillary equipment shall be maintained so as always to meet the requirements of this Section 615.
D. Residential Development Fixture Placement
1. Street lighting fixtures in residential developments shall be placed at the following locations:
a. At the intersection of public roads with entrance roads to the proposed development.
b. Intersections involving proposed public or non-public major-thoroughfare road within the proposed development.
E. Recreational Lighting
1. When facilities for such outdoor recreational activities as baseball, tennis, football mid miniature golf are specifically permitted by the Board of Supervisors for operation during hours of darkness, the following requirements shall apply:
a. Lighting shall be accomplished only through the use of "cutoff fixtures or as otherwise approved by the Board of Supervisors.
b. Except as otherwise permitted by the Board of Supervisors, sporting events shall be timed so that all area lighting in the sports facility is extinguished by 9:45 p.m., regardless of such occurrences as extra innings or overtimes.
c. Golf driving ranges, golf courses,and trap shooting facilities shall not be artificially lit and shall not be permitted to operate in the Township during hours of darkness.
2. The foregoing outdoor recreational activities shall not be lighted if they are located within any residential district under the Uwchlan Township Zoning Ordinance or on a nonresidential property located within 1200 feet of a residential. use-
3 Mounting Heights
a Maximum mounting heights for outdoor recreational lighting shall be generally in accordance with the following:
SPORT...........MTG. HT.
Basketball....... 20'
Football........... 50'
Little League Baseball*
200' Radius......60'
300' Radius......70'
Miniature Golf.. 20'
Tennis.............. 30'
*Minimum mounting heights in accordance with league regulations shall prevail
F. Plan Submission
1. Lighting plans shall be submitted to the municipality for review and approval for all proposed outdoor lighting, including but not limited to proposals which are part of a subdivision or land development plan, and shall include:
a. Layout of the proposed fixture locations.
b. Isofootcandle plots of individual fixture installations and 10' x 1.0 illuminance-grid plots for multi-fixture installations, which demonstrate compliance with the intensities and uniformities set forth in this Section 615.
c. Description of the equipment including fixture catalog cuts, photometrics, glare reduction devices lamps, control devices, mounting heights and mounting methods proposed..
2. When requested by the Board of Supervisors, applicant shall submit a visual impact plan that demonstrates appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate on-site and off-site glare.
3. Post-approval alterations to lighting plans or intended substitutions for approved lighting equipment shall be submitted to the Township for review and approval.
G. Post Installation Inspection
The Township reserves the right to conduct a post-installation nighttime inspection to verify compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance, and if appropriate, to require remedial action at no expense to the Township.
H. Compliance Monitoring
1. Safety Hazards
a. If Township judges a lighting installation creates a safety or personal-security hazard, the person(s) responsible for the lighting shall be notified and required to take remedial action.
b. If appropriate corrective action has not been effected within thirty (30) days of notification, the Township may commence legal action as provided in Section 615.J. and K. herein below
2. Nuisance Glare and Inadequate Illumination Levels
a. When Township judges an installation produces unacceptable levels of nuisance glare, skyward light, excessive or insufficient illumination levels or otherwise varies from this Ordinance, Township may cause notification of the person(s) responsible for the lighting and require appropriate remedial action.
b. If appropriate corrective action has not been effected within thirty (30) days of notification, the Township may commence legal action as provided in Section 615.J and K. herein below.
I. Nonconforming Lighting
1. Any lighting fixture or lighting installation existing on the effective date of this Ordinance that does not conform with the requirements of this Ordinance, shall be considered as a lawful nonconformance subject to the following:
a A nonconforming lighting fixture or lighting installation shall be made to conform with the requirements of this Ordinance when:
(1) It is deemed by the Township to create a safety hazard
(2) it is replaced, relocated or abandoned
J. Violations and Penalties
1. Any person who violates or permits a violation of this Section 615 shall, upon being found liable therefore in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a District Justice, pay a fine of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this Section 615. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of the violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
2. The appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek legal and/or equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance with this Section 615.
K. Abatement of Nuisances
1. In addition to any other remedies provided in this Ordinance, any violation of Section C.3. hereof, Control of Nuisance and Disabling Glare, shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the Township by either seeking mitigation of nuisance or appropriate equitable or legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction, including enforcement under the Uwchlan Township Nuisance Ordinance.
Section 2. The sections, provisions and clauses of this Ordinance and. Section. 615 of the Zoning Ordinance enacted hereby are severable, and if any section, provision or clause is determined to be illegal, invalid, inapplicable or unconstitutional by any competent tribunal, such a determination shall not affect the validity of any other section, provision or clause hereof.
Section 3. This Amendatory Ordinance shall be effective on the fifth (5th)day from the day of enactment.