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027-08Action: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: October 22, 2008 ❑ APPROVED ❑ DENIED RESOLUTION Chapter 165, Zoning, Article IV Supplementary Use Regulations - To Add Outdoor Lighting Standards WHEREAS, the Frederick County Planning Department has been directed to prepare modifications to Chapter 165, Zoning — to add outdoor lighting standards. WHEREAS, The Development Review and Regulations Subcommittee (DRRS) recommended approval of this amendment on August 28, 2008; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission discussed the draft ordinance on October 15, 2008; and recommended that a public hearing be held; WHEREAS, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors finds that in the public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning practice, directs the Frederick County Planning Commission hold a public hearing regarding amendments to Chapter 165, Zoning, — to add outdoor lighting standards. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT REQUESTED by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors that the Frederick County Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to consider revisions to Chapter 165, Zoning, to add outdoor lighting standards. THIS ITEM WAS REFERRED BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR MORE DISCUSSION, MODIFICATION, AND PROFESSIONAL REVIEW. Passed this 22nd day of October, 2008 by the following recorded vote: This resolution was approved by the following recorded vote: Richard C. Shickle, Chairman Gary A. Lofton Gary W. Dove Bill M. Ewing Gene E. Fisher Charles S. DeHaven, Jr. Philip A. Lemieux A COPY ATTEST John R. Riley, Jr. Frederick County Administrator BOS Res. #027 -08 Acv` f. COUNTY of FREDERICK w Department of Planning and Development 540/665-5651 MEMORANDUM FAX: 540/665 -6395 To: Frederick County Board of Supervisors From: Candice E. Perkins, AICP, Senior PlannerOd Subject: Board of Supervisors Discussion — Outdoor Lighting Date: October 16, 2008 Outdoor lighting in Frederick County has become an issue over the past few years due to the fact that the Zoning Ordinance contains no standards to regulate their intensity or placement. The only requirement currently is that lighting doesn't create a nuisance due to glare. The Nuisance (§I65 -35) element of the ordinance states that "outdoor lighting shall be arranged to deflect glare away from adjoining properties and public streets. Sources of lighting on a lot shall be hooded or controlled to prevent glare beyond the lot line ". While this nuisance ordinance may have been sufficient in the past, with the rate of development the County has seen and new illumination technology and intensities, this vague ordinance is not adequate. Therefore, staff has created draft lighting standards to help address these issues. The draft standards include elements that will apply to all outdoor lighting as well as portions that apply to nonresidential uses (commercial/industrial, etc.), as well as multifamily uses. New definitions that correspond to the lighting standards are included as well. The Development Review and Regulations Subcommittee (DRRS) first considered this item at their June 2008 meeting. At the June meeting, the Commission had a few comments regarding the text and wanted to discuss the proposed amendment at the next meeting. After this meeting, the proposed ordinance was revised to address DRRS concerns as well as comments provided by the County Attorney. The DRRS discussed the proposed ordinance again at their August 28, 2008 meeting. The Planning Commission discussed this item on October 15, 2008 and was supportive of the amendment. The attached documents show the proposed outdoor lighting ordinance as well as proposed definitions that correspond to the ordinance. This item is presented for discussion. Staff is seeking comments and direction from the Board of Supervisors on this Zoning Ordinance text amendment; attached is a resolution directing the item to public hearing should the Board deem it appropriate. Attachment: 1. Proposed Ordinance and Definitions. CEP/bad 107 North Kent Street, Suite 202 • Winchester, Virginia 22601 -5000 Draft - Outdoor Lighting Standards 10/16/08 Outdoor Lighting Standards. The purpose and intent of this section is to establish outdoor lighting standards that reduce the impacts of glare, light trespass and overlighting; promote safety and security; and encourage energy conservation. A. Application and General Provisions. 1. Except as provided in F of this Section, these standards shall apply to the installation of new outdoor lighting fixtures or the replacement of existing fixtures. Replacement of a fixture shall mean a change of fixture type or change to the mounting height or location of the fixture. Routine lighting fixture maintenance, such as changing lamps or light bulbs, ballast, starter, photo control, housing, lenses and other similar components, shall not constitute replacement and shall be permitted provided such changes do not result in a higher lumen output. B. General Outdoor Lighting Standards. 1. All outdoor lighting fixtures shall be designed, shielded, aimed, located and maintained to shield adjacent properties and to not produce glare onto adjacent properties or roadways. Parking lot fixtures and light fixtures on buildings shall be full cut -off fixtures. Within residential developments the Zoning Administrator may approve alternate parking lot fixtures so long as the intent of the ordinance is met. 2. Flashing, revolving, or intermittent exterior lighting visible from any property line or street shall be prohibited. High intensity beams, such as, but not limited to, outdoor searchlights, lasers or strobe lights shall be prohibited. 3. Light fixtures, including mounting base, shall not be more than twenty -five (25) feet in height above finished grade unless the Zoning Administrator determines that an increase in height, not to exceed ten (10) additional feet, would reduce the total number of light fixtures for the site and still meet the intent of the Ordinance. On land in the M1 (Light Industrial) and M2 (Industrial General) Zoning Districts that is contained within an approved master development plan, the Zoning Administrator may allow light fixtures to exceed 35 feet in height if additional security is required, provided that the site is not adjacent to property used for residential or agricultural uses. In no case shall light fixtures in the M1 and M2 Districts exceed 45 feet in height. On properties zoned RA (Rural Areas) primarily used for agricultural or residential uses, light fixtures shall not be mounted more than thirty -five (35) feet in height above the finished grade. 4. Light fixtures shall be placed outside of the paved areas of a site. Lighting fixtures shall be placed within landscaped islands or in the perimeter green space of the site. 1 Draft - Outdoor Lighting Standards 10/16/08 5. Building mounted lighting fixtures shall not be mounted more than thirty (30) feet above the finished grade of the building. 6. Except for internally illuminated signs, the use of lighting fixtures, which are enclosed in clear or translucent white, off -white or yellow casing, shall not be permitted on the roofs of buildings or on the sides of canopies. 7. All lighting shall be oriented not to direct glare or excessive illumination onto streets in a manner that may distract or interfere with the vision of drivers on such streets. 8. Lighting used to illuminate flags, statues, signs or any other objects mounted on a pole, pedestal or platform, spotlighting or floodlighting used for architectural or landscape purposes, shall consist of full cut -off or directionally shielded lighting fixtures that are aimed and controlled so that the directed light shall be substantially confined to the object intended to be illuminated. Directional control shields shall be used where necessary to limit stray light. C. Photometric Plan Requirements 1. A Photometric Lighting Plan shall be submitted and approved in conjunction with any site plan required by Article XIX or Subdivision Design Plan as required by Chapter 144 of the Frederick County Code. Photometric plan submitted with site plans shall be current (less than 30 days old) and must be certified by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP), or a Virginia licensed professional engineer, architect, landscape architect or land surveyor. 2. All such required plans shall include the following: a) Plans indicating the location on the premises of all lighting fixtures, both proposed and already existing on the site, including a schematic layout of proposed outdoor lighting fixture locations that demonstrate adequate intensities and uniformity, and the light coverage resulting from the proposed lighting layout. b) Description of all lighting fixtures, both proposed and existing, which shall include but are not limited to catalog cuts and illustrations by manufactures that describe the equipment, including, lamp types, wattage and initial lumen outputs, glare control devices, lamps, proposed placement of all fixtures, including engineering detail of fixtures, manufacturer, model and installation of same. c) Photometric data, such as that furnished by manufactures, or similar showing the angle cut -off light emissions and glare - control devices. 2 Draft - Outdoor Lighting Standards 10/16/08 d) Mounting height of all fixtures. D. Outdoor Lighting Standards for Nonresidential Uses. 1. The average maintained lighting levels for nonresidential uses shall not exceed the following standards: a) Five (5) foot - candles for parking lot and other areas. b) Ten (10) foot - candles along fronts of buildings and along main drive aisles. c) Thirty (30) foot - candles for high security areas, such as, but not limited to teller machines (ATM's), motor vehicle display areas and vehicle fuel station canopies, but not including parking lots. 2. Light fixtures under any canopy shall consist of full cut -off lighting fixtures where the light source is either completely flush or recessed within the underside of the canopy. The portions of the canopy not included in the sign area shall not be illuminated. 3. Lighting levels shall not exceed 0.2 foot - candles at any common property line with property zoned, used as or planned for residential or agricultural uses. In addition all light poles shall be equipped with supplemental opaque shielding on the residential property side of the lighting fixture to reduce glare caused by direct light source exposure. 4. Lighting levels shall not exceed 5.0 foot - candles at any common property line with property zoned or used for commercial or industrial uses. 5. Lighting levels shall not exceed 5.0 foot - candles at any edge of a property line adjacent to a street or road right -of -way. E. Outdoor Lighting Standards for Multifamily Uses. 1. The average maintained lighting levels for multifamily developments shall not exceed the following: a) 0.5 foot - candles at property line boundaries. b) Ten (10) foot - candles at buildings, parking lots and other areas. F. Exemptions from Lighting Ordinance. 3 Draft - Outdoor Lighting Standards 10/16/08 1. Lighting fixtures and standards required by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal and State Occupational Safety and Health Administrations, or other federal or state agencies, to include street lights within the public - right -of -way. 2. Outdoor lighting fixtures required by law enforcement, fire and rescue, the Virginia Department of Transportation or other emergency response agencies to perform emergency or construction repair work, or to perform nighttime road construction on major thoroughfares. 3. Security lighting controlled and activated by motion sensor devices for a duration of 5 minutes or less, but not to exceed the applicable foot - candle limits stated elsewhere in this section. ARTICLE XXII Definitions §165 -156. Definitions and word usage. [Amended 11 -13 -1991] Foot - Candle — A measure of light falling on a surface. One (1) foot - candle is equal to the amount of light generated by one (1) candle shining on one (1) square foot surface located one (1) foot away. Foot - candle measurements shall be made with a photometric light meter with a specified horizontal orientation. Lighting Fixture — A complete lighting unit consisting of the lamp, lens, optical reflector, housing and an electrical components necessary for ignition and control of the lamp, which may include a ballast, starter and /or photo control. Lighting Fixture, Directionally Shielded — A lighting fixture which emits a light distribution where some light is emitted at or above a horizontal plan located at the bottom of a fixture. Such fixtures may contain visors, louvers, or other types of shields or lenses which are designed to direct light onto a target area and to minimize stray light. Lighting fixture, full cut -off - A lighting fixture from which zero (0) percent of its light output is emitted at or above ninety (90) degrees from horizontal (a horizontal plane drawn through the bottom of the light fixture) and no more than ten (10) percent above eighty (80) degrees from the horizontal. Light fixture, recessed canopy — An outdoor lighting fixture recessed into a canopy ceiling so that the light source is either completely flush or recessed within the underside of the canopy. Maintained Lighting Level — A level of illumination which results when the initial output of the lamp is reduced by certain light loss factors. Such light loss factors typically include lamp depreciation and dirt accumulation on lenses and other light fixtures components. For the purpose of this Chapter, the maintained lighting level shall represent an average foot - candle level measured over a specified area. 4 FIG. 1, EXAMPLES OF FULL CUT -OFF LIGHTING FIXTURES ARCHITECTURAL /LANDSCAPE LIGHTING — DIRECTIONALLY SHIELDED I;;& I "house -side shielding' SUPPLEMENTAL OPAQUE SHIELDING (ADJACENT TO RESIDENTIAL) Lighting used for architectural /landscaping lighting shall be aimed and controlled so that light is confined, as much as possible, to the objects that are intended to be lit.