CHAPTER 19

OUTDOOR LIGHTING

 

1905    Purpose.

1910    Promulgation of Rules and Regulations.

1915    Definitions.

1920    Light Measurement Technique.

1925    General Standards for Outdoor Lighting.

1930    Parking Lot Lighting.

1935    Outdoor Sports Field/Outdoor Performance Area Lighting.

1940    Sign Lighting.

1945    Lighting for Commercial Buildings and Landscaping.

1950    Site Plans.

1955    Search Lights.

1960    Nonconformities.

 

1905 PURPOSE

 

Outdoor lighting shall be designed to provide the minimum lighting necessary to ensure adequate safety, night vision, and comfort; and maximum light levels so as not to create or cause glare onto nearby properties and public street rights of way; and to minimize uplight.

 

1910  PROMULGATION OF RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

Upon adoption of this ordinance, the City Manager shall present Rules and Regulations relating to the implementation of the intent of Chapter 19 to the City Council for adoption by resolution.  Provided, however, that the City Manager shall from time to time promulgate such additional Rules and Regulations, or changes to existing Rules and Regulations as considered necessary.  The promulgation of such Rules and Regulations, in whole or in part, shall require the City Manager to notify the City Council and Planning Commission in writing of the proposed Rules and Regulations and shall require the exact language of the proposal be attached to such notice.  Such notice to the City Council shall be published in the consent agenda of a City Council meeting for acknowledgement of Council receipt of the change(s).  Upon notification to the City Council and for a period of 30 days, the proposed Rules and Regulations shall lay open and be subject to City Council action to disapprove either in part or in whole.  Absent action by the City Council to disapprove proposed Rules and Regulations within the allotted time frame, such Rules and Regulations shall have the force and effect of law.

 

1915 DEFINITIONS

 

Cutoff Fixture – An outdoor light fixture shielded or constructed in such a manner that no more than two and one half (2.5) percent of the total light emitted by the fixture is projected above the horizontal plane of the fixture.

 

Flood Lamp – A form of lighting designed to direct its output in a specific direction with a reflector formed from the glass envelope of the lamp itself.  Such lamps are so designated by the manufacturers and are typically used in residential outdoor area lighting.

 

Flood Light – A form of lighting designed to direct its output in a diffuse, more or less specific direction, with reflecting or refracting elements located external to the lamp.

 

Footcandle (FC) – A quantitative unit measuring the amount of light cast onto a given point, measured as one lumen per square foot.

 

Full Cutoff Fixture – An outdoor light fixture shielded or constructed in such a manner that it emits no light above the horizontal plane of the fixture.

 

Glare – The effect produced by a light source within the visual field that is sufficiently brighter than the level to which the eyes are adapted, to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss of visual performance and ability.

 

Light Source – The element of a lighting fixture that is the point of origin of the lumens emitted by the fixture.

 

Lumen – A quantitative unit measuring the amount of light emitted by a light source.

 

Maintained Footcandles – Illuminance of lighting fixtures adjusted for a maintenance factor accounting for dirt build-up and lamp output depreciation. 

 

Outdoor Sports Field – An area designed for active recreation, whether publicly or privately owned, including but not limited to baseball/softball diamonds, soccer fields, football fields, golf courses and ranges, tennis courts, racetracks, and swimming pools.

 

Outdoor Performance Area – An area permanently dedicated to the public presentation of music, dance, theater, media arts, storytelling, oratory, or other performing arts, whether publicly or privately owned, including but not limited to amphitheaters and similar open or semi-enclosed structures.

 

Right-of-way – An interest in land controlled by the City that provides for the perpetual right and privilege of the City, its agents, franchise holders, successors, and assigns to construct, install, improve, reconstruct, remove, replace, inspect, repair, maintain, and use a public street, including related and customary uses of street rights-of-way such as sidewalks, bike paths, landscaping, mass transit facilities, traffic control, traffic control devices and signage, sanitary sewer, stormwater drainage, water supply, cable television, electric power, gas, and telephone transmission and related purposes in upon, over, below, and across the rights-of-way.

 

Semi-Cutoff Fixture – An outdoor light fixture shielded or constructed in such a manner that it emits no more than five (5) percent of its light above the horizontal plane of the fixture, and no more than twenty (20) percent of its light ten (10) degrees below the horizontal plane of the fixture.

 

Spillover Light – The light that can be measured on a property, when that same light is generated from another property.

 

Uplight – Light that shines upward, above the horizontal plane, such as might be generated from a searchlight or spotlight.

 

Wall Pack – A type of light fixture typically flush-mounted on a vertical wall surface.

 

1920 Light Measurement Technique

 

Light level measurements shall be made at the property line of the property upon which the light to be measured is being generated.  If measurement on private property is not possible or practical, light level measurements may be made at the boundary of the public street right-of-way that adjoins the property.  Measurements shall be made at finished grade (ground level), with the light-registering portion of the meter held parallel to the ground pointing up.  Light levels are specified, calculated and measured in footcandles (FC).

 

1925 General Standards for Outdoor Lighting.

 

1.      All Zoning Districts Except Residential and Agricultural

 

1)                  Unless otherwise specified in the following subsections, the maximum light level shall be 0.5 maintained footcandles at any property line adjacent to a single-family residential property, and 2.0 maintained footcandles at any public, non-arterial street right-of-way, unless otherwise approved by the Planning Commission.  During hours of operation, a minimum of 1.0 footcandles shall be maintained in parking lots.

 

2)                  Unless shielded, all flood lights shall be installed such that the fixture shall be aimed down at least forty-five (45) degrees from vertical, or the front of the fixture is shielded such that no portion of the light bulb extends below the bottom edge of an external shield.  Flood lights and display lights shall be positioned such that any such fixture located within fifty feet (50’) of a public street right-of-way is mounted and aimed perpendicular to the right-of-way, with a side-to-side horizontal aiming tolerance not to exceed fifteen (15) degrees from perpendicular to the right-of-way (see Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1.

 

 

3)                  All wall fixtures, including wall packs, shall be cutoff fixtures.

 

4)                  Service connections for all freestanding fixtures shall be installed underground.  The applicability of this provision may be reviewed on an individual basis for developments with structures totaling less than 4,000 square feet of floor area.

 

5)                  All light fixtures installed by public agencies, their agents, or contractors for the purpose of illuminating public streets shall use the current standards provided by the IES or AASHTO for road lighting, and are otherwise exempt from these regulations.

 

6)                  No wood poles may be used for any freestanding fixtures.  The applicability of this provision may be reviewed on an individual basis for developments with structures totaling less than 4,000 square feet of gross floor area.

 

2.      RM Zoning Districts

 

1)                      Unless otherwise specified in the following subsections, the maximum light level shall be 0.5 maintained footcandle at any property line adjacent to a single-family district, , and 2.0 maintained footcandles at any public, non-arterial street right-of-way, unless otherwise approved by the Planning Commission.  A minimum of 0.7 footcandles shall be maintained in parking lots in RM districts.

 

2)                      Unless fully shielded, all flood lights shall be installed such that the fixture shall be aimed down at least forty-five (45) degrees from vertical, or the front of the fixture is shielded such that no portion of the light bulb extends below the bottom edge of an external shield.  Flood lights and display lights shall be positioned such that any such fixture located within fifty feet (50’) of a public street right-of-way is mounted and aimed perpendicular to the right-of-way, with a side-to-side horizontal aiming tolerance not to exceed fifteen (15) degrees from perpendicular to the right-of-way.  Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to allow any fixture that cause excessive glare to be visible from any right-of-way (see Exhibit 1).

 

3)                      All wall fixtures, including wall packs, shall be cutoff fixtures.

 

4)                      Service connections for all freestanding fixtures in non-single-family areas shall be installed underground.  The applicability of this provision may be reviewed on an individual basis.

 

5)                      All light fixtures installed by public agencies, their agents, or contractors for the purpose of illuminating public streets shall use the standard provided by the IES for road lighting, and are otherwise exempt from these regulations.

 

6)                      No wood poles may be used for any freestanding fixtures.  The applicability of this provision may be reviewed on an individual basis.

 

3.      Agricultural and Other Residential Districts

 

The provisions of Section D of these regulations do not apply to properties located within AG, RE, RS, RD, and RTH zoning districts.

 

 

1930 Parking Lot Lighting

 

1)       Other than flood lights and flood lamps, all outdoor area and parking lot lighting fixtures of more than 2,000 lumens shall be cutoff fixtures, or comply with subsection (3) below, and shall be subject to the requirements of Section D.

 

2)       The mounting height of all parking lot lighting shall not exceed thirty (30) feet above finished grade.  The applicability of this provision may be reviewed on an individual basis.

 

3)       All non-cutoff fixture open-bottom lights shall be equipped with full cutoff fixture shields that reduce glare and limit uplight.

 

4)       All parking lot lighting requirements listed in Section 2050 may be modified by the Community Development Department upon a finding that the developer has provided a method by which glare from lighting elements will not cross any property line, and lighting elements will not be visible from any point off the subject property.

 

1935 Outdoor Sports Field/Outdoor Performance Area Lighting

 

The hours of operation for the lighting system for any game or event shall not exceed two hours after the end of the event.

 

1940 Sign Lighting

 

Lighting fixtures illuminating signs shall be aimed and shielded so that direct illumination is focused exclusively on the sign.  The lighting of any signs must also comply with the Owasso Sign Ordinance.

 

1945 Lighting of Commercial Buildings and Landscaping

 

Lighting fixtures shall be selected, located, aimed, and shielded so that direct illumination is focused exclusively on the building faηade, plantings, and other intended site features and away from adjoining properties and the public street right-of-way.  Ornamental and decorative accent lighting fixtures will be considered on an individual basis.

 

1950 Site Plans

 

The applicant for any site plan approval required for work involving outdoor lighting shall submit documentation at time of site plan submission that the proposed lighting plan complies with the provisions of this Code.  The site plan must include a point-by-point footcandle array in a printout format indicating the location and aiming of illuminating devices.  The printout shall indicate compliance with the maximum maintained footcandles required by this Code.

 

The Community Development Director or his/her designee may require a photometric plan for the development, that shall contain, but not be limited to the following, all or part of which may be part of or in addition to the information required elsewhere in this Code:

 

Description of the illuminating devices, fixtures, lamps, supports, reflectors, poles, raised foundations and other devices (including but not limited to manufacturers or electric utility catalog specification sheets and/or drawings, and photometric report indicating fixture classification [cutoff fixture, wall pack, flood light, etc.]).

 

1955 Searchlights

 

Searchlights shall require a separate permit.  If granted, such permit shall not be valid for duration longer than 48 hours on a specific property, and such permit shall not be granted more than two times in one year.  Searchlights shall not be permitted inside residential areas.

 

 

 

 

1960 Nonconformities

 

Any lights existing prior to the adoption of this ordinance are considered legal and non-conforming.  Any new outside light fixtures placed upon properties within Owasso must meet the requirements of this ordinance.