New Lighting Regulations

The Environmental Commission has started to consider proposing a new ordinance to address the problem of

1. Annoying levels of lighting from one parcel as perceived by owners of an adjacent parcel
2. Distracting lighting along roadways
3. Hot spot lighting perceived as annoying - the problem is thought be exacerbated by new construction or rehab.

The concept of "Light Trespass" might be introduced with a set of design guidelines developed to control the "light trespass" phenomenon and promote energy efficiency. New regulations could specify luminance rather than wattage -- 0.1 foot candles. Existing regulations would be rewritten to use the new luminance metric.

No mention of how to determine the need for such an ordinance, how it might be enforced and adjudicated and what the new regulatory regime might cost.

The regulation of lighting has been discussed on and off, for some years, in this Commission and the Planning Board and at the Township Committee, but it has never matured into the more formal stage of an ordinance draft, due to the subjective nature of the complaints and the difficulty of regulation, and the historic distaste of our local governing body for excessive interference into personal design choices. The Environmental Commission has maintained its interest into the issue in any event.