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Town of Superior Lighting Codes


Sec. 16-445. Lighting requirements.

(a) All  public  streets,  sidewalks,  and  other  common  areas  or  facilities  in  development  or subdivisions created after the effective date of this Chapter shall be sufficiently illuminated to provide for the security of property and the safety of persons using such streets, sidewalks and other common areas  or  facilities.    The requirement for illumination shall be balanced against energy conservation concerns, with the most energy efficient lighting encouraged.

(b) All entrances and exits in substantial buildings used for nonresidential purposes and in multi-family residential developments containing more than four  (4) dwelling units shall be adequately lighted to provide for safety of persons and the security of the buildings. Such lighting should generally allow the entrance to be clearly visible from the nearest street or other area that will likely have traffic passing through.

(c) Additional lighting requirements are contained in the design policies of the Town and should be followed for the appropriate development type.  (Prior IDC §9.10.5)

 

ARTICLE XIV

Commercial and Industrial Use Performance Standards

Sec. 16-313. Light.

Exterior lighting, except for overhead street lighting and warning, emergency or traffic signals shall be installed in such a manner that the light source will be sufficiently obscured and directed downwards to prevent glare on public streets and walkways or into any residential area.  In no case shall spillage of on-site lighting exceed 0.1 foot-candle at the site or project boundary. The installation or erection of any lighting that may be confused with warning signals, emergency signals or traffic signals is prohibited.  (Prior IDC §8.2.3)

Sec. 16-344. Sign illumination and signs containing lights.

(a) Unless otherwise prohibited by this Code, signs may be illuminated if such illumination is in accordance with this Section.

(b)               No sign within one hundred fifty (150) feet of a residential zone may be illuminated between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless the impact of such lighting beyond the boundaries of the lot where it is located is entirely inconsequential.

(c)               Lighting directed toward a sign shall be shielded so that it illuminates only the face of the sign and does not shine directly into a public right-of-way or residential premises.

(d) Except as herein provided, (1) internally illuminated signs are only permissible in the B-C, B-R, I-L and I-H zoning districts, and (2) where permissible, internally illuminated freestanding signs may not be illuminated during hours that the business or enterprise advertised by such sign is not open for business or in operation. This Subsection shall not apply to the following types of signs:

(1) Signs that constitute an integral part of a vending machine, telephone booth, device that indicates the time, date or weather conditions, or similar device whose principal function is not to convey an advertising message.

(2) Signs that do not exceed two (2) square feet in area and that convey the message that a business enterprise is open or closed or that a place of lodging does or does not have a vacancy.

(e) Subject to Subsection (g) below, illuminated tubings or strings of lights that outline property lines, sales areas, rooflines, doors, windows or similar areas are prohibited.

(f) Subject to Subsection  (g) below, no sign may contain or be illuminated by flashing or intermittent lights or lights of changing degrees of intensity, except signs indicating the time, date or weather conditions.

(g) Subsections (e) and (f) above do not apply to temporary signs erected in connection with the observance of holidays.  (Prior IDC §11.13)

Sec. 16-345. Specific sign uses.

In addition to the general provisions of this Code, the following regulations shall apply to all signs of the following types:

(1) Projecting signs.

a.  No projecting sign shall project more than five (5) feet beyond the building line in the direction of the street, nor shall any portion of any projecting sign be closer than two (2) feet to the face of the street curb or curb line.

b.  No portion of any projecting sign shall be less than ten (10) feet above grade level.

C.  No single face of a projecting sign shall exceed fifteen (15) square feet in sign area.

d.  No projecting sign shall have a vertical dimension greater than six (6) feet.

e.  There shall be no more than one (1) projecting sign for any premises unless the premises are located on a corner lot or have public entrances on two (2) or more streets, in which case one (1) projecting sign may be erected for and toward each street.

(2) Wall signs.

a.  No wall sign shall extend above the top of the wall upon which it is placed.

b.  No wall sign, or any part thereof, shall project more than twelve  (12) inches from the wall upon which it is mounted. If external lighting is used, reflectors must be ten (10) feet above the surface of the sidewalk, must be equipped with wire mesh guards, and no part may extend more than two (2) feet from the wall of the building.

c.  No wall sign shall extend beyond the left and right extremities of the wall to which it is attached.

(3) Real estate development signs. In addition to the general provisions of this Code, the following regulations shall apply to all real estate development signs:

a. The use of real estate development signs shall be limited to those developers or owners having for sale a minimum of six (6) lots in one (1) subdivision.

b. Such signs must be located on the premises, which are for sale.  Signs desired to be erected off-site can only be done after issuance of an off-site sign permit. These permits are to contain a time limit as a condition.

c.  Such signs may advertise only the subdivision in which the sign is located, and not the sale of lots elsewhere, or the realtor's, developer's or landowner's business in general. The content of such signs shall be limited to the name of the development, the developer's name, address and the telephone number of the developer or his or her sales agents price range of product, and direction to the sales office.

d. Such signs shall conform to relevant setback line requirements. No sign shall be located in any public right-of-way. If any person shall use more than one  (1) sign for the same development or area, no two (2) signs shall be closer to each other than one thousand (1,000) feet measured in a straight line between said signs.

e.  The maximum sign area of any such single-faced sign shall be twenty-five (25) square feet, and for any such double-faced sign fifty (50) feet. No part of such sign shall be more than ten (10) feet above grade or in excess of ten (10) feet in any dimension.

f.  Such signs shall be removed when seventy-five percent  (75%) of the lots in the subdivision have been sold or leased or as specified in the time limit of the permit.

g. Artificial illumination of such signs is prohibited.

h.      Such signs are to be removed upon completion of sale of homes and/or lots.  (Prior IDC §11.14)

 

ARTICLE XX

Utilities

Sec. 16-445. Lighting requirements.

(a) All public streets, sidewalks, and other common areas or facilities in development or subdivisions created after the effective date of this Chapter shall be sufficiently illuminated to provide for the security of property and the safety of persons using such streets, sidewalks and other common areas or facilities. The requirement for illumination shall be balanced against energy conservation concerns, with the most energy efficient lighting encouraged.

(b) All entrances and exits in substantial buildings used for nonresidential purposes and in multi-family residential developments containing more than four (4) dwelling units shall be adequately lighted to provide for safety of persons and the security of the buildings. Such lighting should generally allow the entrance to be clearly visible from the nearest street or other area that will likely have traffic passing through.

(c) Additional lighting requirements are contained in the design policies of the Town and should be followed for the appropriate development type.  (Prior IDC §9.10.5)

Sec. 16-446. Excessive illumination.

Lighting within any lot that unnecessarily illuminates any other lot and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of such other lot is prohibited.  Lighting that unnecessarily illuminates another lot if it clearly exceeds the standards set forth in Section 16-445, if the light shines directly into a residence, or if the standards set forth in Section 16-445 could reasonably be achieved in a manner that would not substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of neighboring properties.  (Prior IDC §9.10.6)

 

ARTICLE XXXIV

Design Policies

Sec. 16-711. General architectural design criteria.

(c) General lighting requirements that apply to Sections 16-712 through Sections 16-716.

(1) All exterior lights for streets, parking drives, walkways and buildings shall be metal halide (casts a white light).

(2) Light levels at the property line are to be measured as line of sight from five (5) feet above the ground at the property line to the nearest and brightest light source on the property. Light plans shall reflect the theoretical light levels at the property line using this method.  

(3) Lighting plans must identify the light loss factors (adjustments for dirt and age of fixture/lamp) for all types of exterior lights proposed.  The specified lighting levels for any use are maximums under any fixture and are the light levels allowed without adjustments for light loss factors.  Verification measurements by the Town for lighting plan compliance can occur anytime after a fifty-hour burn-in period subsequent to an approved development’s Certificate of Occupancy.

(4) Full cut-off fixtures must be used on all exterior locations.  These fixtures are to be rated by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and lamps must be placed horizontally in the fixture. The only exception may be building and walkway fixtures at low light levels with frosted lenses.

(5) All canopy lights must be recessed so that no lens or light source drops below the ceiling surface of the canopy.  Canopy fixtures must use horizontal lamps.

(6) In order to achieve relative light uniformity in parking lots, the light level below any light standard or pole may not be greater than ten (10) times the weakest reading between this pole and adjacent poles.

Sec. 16-715. Commercial, office, retail and industrial (CORI) developments.

(5) Site lighting. The purpose of these standards is to provide for a safe, functional, visually attractive and coordinated site lighting system. Site lighting shall conform to the standards contained in the Lighting for Exterior Environment RP-33-99 by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA).    Further, the site lighting requirements are as follows:

a.  Lights shall not be placed to cause glare or excessive light spillage, as defined by IESNA, on neighboring sites.

b.  All parking lot and driveway lighting should provide uniform illumination in compliance with the following maximum levels of light fixture illumination (initial horizontal luminance):

Commercial and Retail Use

Parking lots:  5.00 foot-candles

Driveways: 2.00 foot-candles

Property line:  0.10 foot-candle (line of sight)

Walkways 2.0 foot-candles

Canopy areas/ Entryways 5.00 foot-candles

Loading docks 5.00 foot-candles

Office and Industrial Use

Parking lots:  3.00 foot-candles

Driveways: 2.00 foot-candles

Property line:  0.10 foot-candle (line of sight)

Walkways 2.0 foot-candles

Canopy areas/ Entryways 5.00 foot-candles

Loading docks 5.00 foot-candles

c.  All light fixtures are to be concealed source fixtures except for pedestrian-oriented accent lights that are limited to a lumen rating of 1800 lumens.

d.  Building-mounted lighting fixtures are not to project above the fascia or roofline of the building and are to be fully shielded (IESNA full cut-off luminaries). The shields shall be painted to match the surface to which they are attached.  Building-mounted lighting fixtures are not to be substituted for parking lot or walkway lighting fixtures, unless they are located at or below twelve (12) feet above the area lighted.

e.  Exterior wall-mounted floodlights are expressly prohibited.

f.  Lighting of all pedestrian walkways, plazas, etc., is required.

g.  Lighting in parking lots, walkways and plaza areas must be reduced to minimum levels adequate for security after close of operations. Lighting of these areas need to be controlled by rheostats and timers.

 

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