[Massplanners] Residential Lighting

[Thaddeus Soule]

Dear Jeff Lacy:

Most municipalities have an illumination section within the zoning bylaw. Best of Luck.


3430 Illumination

3431 Applicability

All exterior lighting installed in Provincetown after the effective date of this Section shall conform with the requirements of this Bylaw. This includes, but is not limited to, new lighting, replacement lighting, or any other lighting whether attached to structures, poles, the earth, or any other location. All exterior lighting fixtures that were lawfully installed prior to the effective date of this Section, but that do not comply with the requirements of this Section, are declared to be legal non-conforming light fixtures. All legal non-conforming lighting may continue to be used and maintained after the adoption of this Section but shall be subject to the Light Trespass (3433 b.) provisions of this Section and shall be brought into compliance when replacement with new lighting equipment is proposed, except a replacement of only lamps or bulbs.

3432 Lighting Plans

All site plan applications that include exterior lighting shall include a lighting plan and lighting fixture specification sheets that show the type, lumen output, Correlated Color Temperature (CCT), shielding description, location, and height, of all proposed lighting fixtures. The applicant shall provide sufficient information to verify that lighting conforms to the requirements of this Section.

Projects that include Parking Lots with greater than ten (10) parking spaces, service station projects, or developments of similar large areas of lighting shall submit a photometric site plan that demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this Section.

3433 Requirements

a. Shielding



All exterior light fixtures and/or lamps with initial lumens exceeding 450 lumens shall be fully shielded. Fully shielded means that an outdoor light fixture is constructed so that, in its installed position, all of the light emitted by the light fixture is projected below the horizontal plane that passes through the lowest light-emitting part of the light fixture.

1. Exception:



Lighting of building facades, landscape features, monuments, flagpoles and similar objects, if the lighting fixtures are shielded, focused directly at the object being illuminated, and emit the minimum light output that is necessary, in order to reduce light pollution to the greatest extent possible.

b. Light Trespass and Glare



No exterior light fixture shall create a lighting nuisance in the form of light trespass or glare. Light Trespass and Glare are lighting nuisances when they cause significant discomfort to occupants of adjacent properties or create a hazard to public safety along a public way. This determination will be made by the Building Commissioner or Building Commissioner's designee through a site visit and a visual inspection and/or night-time photograph.

c. Light Color Temperature



The correlated color temperature (CCT), measured in Kelvin (K), of all light sources shall be 3,000K or lower ("warmer") with the exception of lighting within the Town Center Commercial or General Commercial zones that is for decorative effect to enhance nightlife or the appearance of buildings.

Town of Provincetown, Massachusetts - Zoning By-laws Page 42

d. Lighting Fixture Height



No lighting fixture, whether mounted on a building, pole, or otherwise, shall be located more than 15-feet above grade, except where required by the Building Code.

e. Externally Illuminated Signs



Externally illuminated signs shall employ only fully shielded lights fixed within three feet of the surface they illuminate.

3434 Exemptions

The following are exempt from compliance with the provisions of this Section:

a. Holiday, string, festoon, and similar decorative lighting.

b. Emergency lighting, only for as long as emergency conditions so identified by public safety personnel continue to exist. This includes the activities of law enforcement, fire and other emergency services.

c. Lighting employed during repairs of roads, utilities and similar infrastructure, including unshielded lighting, provided that such lighting is deployed, positioned and aimed such that the resulting glare is not directed toward any roadway.

d. Any form of lighting whose use is mandated or otherwise governed by any legal jurisdiction superior to that of the Town of Provincetown.

e. Temporary lighting required to save life, limb or property from imminent peril, provided that use persists only during the hours of the peril.

f. Temporary lighting for events sponsored by the Town or for which a Town license or other approval has been issued, such as concerts, fairs, festivals, and theatrical or video production.

g. Structures exceeding 60 ft. in height, including the Pilgrim Monument, water towers, and radio communication towers.

h. Municipal sports field or athletic facility lighting.

i. Municipal street lighting.


Thaddeus J. Soulé
Town Planner
260 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
508-487-7000 Ext. 553
tsoule at provincetown-ma.gov

Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance. - Abigail Adams

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of ruralplanningassociates--- via MassPlanners
Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 10:00 AM
To: 'Massplanners Listserv' <MassPlanners at masscptc.org>; massplanners at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [Massplanners] Residential Lighting

Good morning:

Any towns out there with experience (e.g., bylaws or regulations) regulating exterior residential lighting?  Brightness, direction, types of luminaires, or any other characteristic that could be obnoxious to neighboring properties?

Thanks so much,

Jeff Lacy
Rural Planning Associates
(413) 230-9693
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20220309/ef6f28dc/attachment.htm>