§ 9-649. Exterior lighting.

(a)

General standards.

(1)

Exterior lighting plan. An exterior lighting plan, including a photometric plan (which covers the parcel which is the site of the building or project in question), appropriate pole, fixture, and lamp cut sheets, and descriptions of lenses and appropriate data tables, shall be submitted for review. The exterior lighting plan shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer, who shall certify that the exterior lighting plan complies with this article. (The photometric plan shall be prepared in a scale that is easily legible).

(2)

Lighting intensities. Lighting intensities for buildings, projects, or other uses not specifically regulated by this article (for example, athletic fields, courts, and swimming pools) shall be designed as recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). However, all such uses shall comply with these regulations for control of glare and light level at the property line.

(3)

Footcandle intensities. Footcandle intensities specified in this article shall be maintained values calculated using a maintenance factor ("m.f.") not lower than 0.72.

(4)

Light fixtures; types. All light fixtures, including security lighting, shall be cutoff fixtures, and shall be incorporated as an integral design element that complements the design of the building or project through style, material or color. Luminaires shall not be tilted. Lighting of or on buildings shall be limited to wall washer type fixtures or up-lights, which do not produce spill light or glare. A cutoff fixture shall not have more than one percent (1%) of lamp lumens above horizontal. Sag lenses, convex lenses, and drop lenses shall be prohibited. Lighting at a building or project shall not be comprised in whole or part of any floodlights, except floodlights may be permitted with a noncommercial industrial use, provided the floodlights are shielded to meet cut-off standards.

(5)

Illumination levels. Illumination levels at the property line of the building or project shall not be more than 0.5 f.c. at any point when the building or project is located next to any residential use, and shall not be more than 1.0 f.c. when located next to any other use. To avoid glare or spill light from encroaching onto adjacent properties, illumination shall be installed with house side shields and reflectors, and shall be maintained in such a manner as to confine light rays to the premises of the building or project.

(6)

Time controls. Non-residential lighting shall be installed with time controls so that light levels are reduced not later than one hour after the close of operations to the minimum levels needed under the IESNA to ensure safety and security (approximately a fifty (50) percent reduction).

(7)

Upgrade or replacement. When fifty (50) percent or more of any component (e.g., luminaires, poles) of the exterior lighting system at a building or project is upgraded, changed, or replaced (not including regular maintenance), such component for the remainder of the exterior lighting shall be brought into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article.

(b)

Specific standards.

(1)

Height. Except as otherwise required under this article, the height of an outdoor lighting fixture (inclusive of the pole and light source/luminare) shall be a maximum of thirty (30) feet within a parking lot, and a maximum of fifteen (15) feet within a nonvehicular pedestrian area. Height shall be measured from the finished grade to the top of the light fixture.

(2)

Parking areas. To avoid conflict in layout, parking area lighting shall be coordinated with the required parking area landscape plans. In a parking area, the following lighting requirements shall apply:

a.

The lamp source shall be metal halide, or compact fluorescent, or a light source that produces a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of sixty-five (65) or higher. Wattage shall not exceed four hundred (400) watts per bulb.

b.

Illumination levels outside the radius of any light pole (with radius meaning or equaling the height of the pole, not to exceed thirty (30) feet, but no less than twenty (20) feet) shall range between a minimum of 0.6 f.c. and a maximum of 3.6 f.c. The thirty-foot or lesser radius shall be shown on the photometric plan. The spacing between poles shall be no closer than two and one-half (2½) times the pole height. However, overflow lighting in a transition zone around a canopied area (see subsection (b)(4) regarding canopied areas) shall be permissible in the parking area surrounding the canopied area, notwithstanding the general lighting requirements in this subsection (b)(2) for parking areas.

c.

Decorative acorn-type fixtures shall not exceed eighteen (18) feet in height and two hundred fifty (250) watts per bulb, and shall have a textured clear lens/globe, frosted/phosphor coated bulbs, and an internal louvered optical system. (Refractor type glass globes that meet the cutoff standard and are equipped with frosted/phosphor coated bulbs are acceptable.) Acorn-style light fixtures located within eighty (80) feet of property zoned as single family residential shall incorporate opaque shielding on the inside of the globe's surface, which internal shielding shall be field-adjusted to minimize off-site light intrusion onto any adjacent property.

d.

Other type fixtures/luminaires, light-levels and mounting heights may be allowed in a special geographic area as may be formally approved from time to time by the board of county commissioners. Examples of such areas include Buena Vista North, Plaza International and the I-Drive Activity Center.

(3)

Pedestrian walkways and bikeways. In pedestrian walkways or bikeways, the following lighting requirements shall apply:

a.

The light fixture/luminaire shall be decorative in appearance, style and finish.

b.

The lamp source shall be metal halide, or compact fluorescent, or a light source that produces a CRI of sixty-five (65) or higher. Wattage shall not exceed one hundred (100) watts per bulb.

c.

Illumination levels shall range between a minimum of 0.2 f.c. and a maximum of 2.5 f.c.

(4)

Canopied areas. At a canopied area, such as that found at drive-through facilities at banks, service stations, convenience centers, and car-washes, lighting under the canopy, awning, porte-cochere, etcetera, shall be either recessed or cut-off fixtures. Additionally, the following lighting requirements shall apply:

a.

The lamp source shall be either metal halide, with wattage not to exceed two hundred fifty (250) watts per bulb, or compact fluorescent, or a light source that produces a CRI of sixty-five (65) or higher;

b.

The maximum footcandle level shall be twenty (20) f.c. (average maintained maximum), with a maximum to minimum ratio of 2:1.

(5)

Dealerships.

a.

Display areas at dealerships for new and used products, including automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and boats, shall have a maximum footcandle level of twenty-four (24) f.c. for any row or tier of display that is adjacent to an external road or street (public or private), and a maximum level of ten (10) f.c. for all other rows or tiers of display. However, overflow lighting in a transition zone around a row or tier of display that is adjacent to an external road or street shall be permissible between such row or tier and the adjoining row or tier.

b.

Entrances and exits to and from the dealership shall not exceed ten (10) f.c.

c.

All other areas (parking and storage) shall comply with the applicable requirements of this article.

(6)

Fire lanes and driveways. Lighting at fire lanes or driveways at building entrances may exceed allowable standards of intensity for safety purposes upon demonstration that compliance with these lighting criteria would otherwise create a safety hazard. However, light levels shall not exceed five (5) f.c. at any point.

(7)

Automatic teller machines (ATMs). Lighting intensities at ATM machines shall be governed by applicable Florida Statutes. However, free standing ATMs shall not exceed twenty (20) f.c. within a five-foot radius from the ATM or five (5) f.c. within a thirty-foot radius.

(8)

Big box developments. Acorn-style light fixtures shall be prohibited within the limits of all big box developments (defined in section 38-1 of this Code). Furthermore, parking area and building-mounted light fixtures shall be installed no more than twenty-five (25) feet above the parking lot finished grade.

(Ord. No. 2003-08, § 1, 6-3-03; Ord. No. 2007-01 , § 6, 3-20-07; Ord. No. 2015-06 , § 1, 2(F), 6-16-15)