SECTION 3.09 ILLUMINATION

3.09.01 INTENT

Site lighting should meet the functional needs of the proposed land use without adversely affecting  adjacent properties or the community. Site lighting should be minimized where possible. 

3.09.02 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 

A.  Exterior light fixtures, including roadway, street, parking lot, walkway and building mounted fixtures, shall be full cut off with flat lenses and shielded (if needed) so that all of the light falls upon either the surface of the structure to be illuminated or the ground.   The Current Planning Manager may approve the use of exterior lighting fixtures that are not full cut off where a specific neighborhood character and/or architectural style warrants such use. 

B.  Interior lighting shall not be directed to illuminate exterior spaces. Interior lights visible from the exterior of a building shall not produce glare and shall not have visible light sources. 

C.  No illumination shall be designed or used which produces direct, incident, or reflected light that interferes with the safe movement of motor vehicles on public streets, including:

1.  Any light fixture not designed for street illumination that produces light that could be disturbing to the operator of a motor vehicle;
 
2.  Any light that may be confused with or construed as a traffic control device;

3.  Any animated, flashing, or changing intensity lights, except for temporary holiday displays.

D.  Lights shall be located so as not to interfere with parking, backing, pedestrian or traffic flow.  No light shall be located within a sidewalk or trail.

E.  With the exception of lighting for public streets, lighting used to illuminate buildings, parking lots, walkways, plazas, or the landscape shall be evaluated during the development review or building permit process. The following table provides lighting criteria for outdoor facilities used at night. 

F.  Maximum on-site lighting levels shall not exceed ten (10) foot-candles, excluding vehicle display lots. Light levels for vehicle display lots, and inventory/merchandise display lots shall not exceed twenty (20) foot-candles and shall also comply with the following criteria: 

(1) Maximum average of ten (10) foot-candles; 

(2) 10:1 maximum to minimum uniformity; 

(3) 5:1 average to minimum uniformity; 

(4) Front row (row closest to perimeter roadways) of inventory display areas shall have a 5:1 maximum to minimum uniformity. 

G.  Feature vehicle display pads, approved by the City, shall not exceed twenty (20) foot-candles as measured on the hood of the displayed vehicle.  

H.  Within all non-residential zones, exterior lighting shall be glare-shielded or directed away from residential zones.  For the purposes of this section, glare is defined as light from a direct or indirect source of illumination which due to its intensity is disturbing, offensive, annoying, or generates a nuisance or safety hazard.

I. For land uses and other situations which require lighting not included on the Light Levels at Initial Installation Table above, lighting criteria contained in the IESNA, 8th Edition, Lighting Handbook (or newest edition) shall be used to determine minimum horizontal distance, maximum uniformity ratio, maximum average luminance, and minimum vertical luminance.  

J.  A point-by-point illumination plan shall be submitted for all commercial building permits and for all development review plans that include uses that will require a commercial building permit (multi-family developments containing structures with three (3) or more dwelling units per structure; all developments containing commercial, industrial and institutional land uses; all developments containing a mix of these land uses).  The Current Planning Manager may waive the requirement for an illumination plan where conditions such as size of site, location, adjacent land uses, hours of operation/lighting, and/or proposed lighting levels do not warrant a lighting plan, as determined by the Current Planning Manager. 

1.  The illumination plan shall illustrate the following items:

a.  Locations of proposed exterior light fixtures, including, but not limited to ornamental pedestrian lights, wall-mounted lights, and parking lot lights;

b. Photometric foot-candle lighting levels for all exterior areas, including    sidewalks, plazas, parking areas, and driveways; 

c.  Photometric calculations shall extend twenty (20) feet beyond the property line of the subject property and shall not exceed one-tenth (0.1) foot-candle as a result of the on-site lighting; and 

d.  Photometric calculations shall be determined using a light loss factor of 1.0.

3.09.03 NORMATIVE GUIDELINES

A. Parking lot and street lights should have a dark, anodized aluminum finish or a material with similar quality and durability.

B.  The use of light or light fixtures over twenty (20) feet in height on private property should be avoided, unless the use of taller poles and fixtures results in a design that meets the intent of these standards and guidelines, and is determined to be more energy efficient and appropriate for the specific site by the Current Planning Manager. 

C. Lights and light fixtures should be designed with the height, materials, and intensity appropriate for its intended use.

D. The use of exterior lighting between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and sunrise should be discouraged unless needed for safety and/or security reasons and where feasible, motion detector lighting or lighting on timers should be used.

E.  The use of energy saving bulbs, such as compact fluorescent bulbs is encouraged.