TOWN OF KENNEBUNKPORT OUTDOOR LIGHTING ORDINANCE
STATEMENT OF NEED AND PURPOSE: Good outdoor lighting at night benefits
everyone. It increases safety, enhances the Town's night time character,
and helps provide security. New lighting technologies have produced lights
that are extremely powerful, and these types of lights may be improperly
installed so that they create problems of excessive glare, light trespass,
and higher energy use. Excessive glare can be annoying and may cause safety
problems. Light trespass reduces everyone's privacy, and higher energy use
results in increased costs for everyone. There is a need for a lighting
ordinance which recognizes the benefits of outdoor lighting and provides clear
guidelines for its installation so as to help maintain and compliment the
Town's character. Appropriately regulated, and properly installed, outdoor
lighting will contribute to the safety and welfare of the residents of the town.
This ordinance is intended to reduce the problems created by improperly
designed and installed outdoor lighting. It is intended to eliminate problems
of glare, minimize light trespass, and help reduce the energy and financial
costs of outdoor lighting by establishing regulations which limit the area
that certain kinds of outdoor-lighting fixtures can illuminate and by limiting
the total allowable illumination of lots located in the Town of Kennebunkport.
ARTICLE 1
1.1. DEFINITIONS: For the purposes of this Ordinance, terms used shall be
defined as follows:
Direct Light: Light emitted directly from the lamp, off of the reflector or
reflector diffuser, or through the refractor or diffuser lens, of a
luminaire.
Fixture: The assembly that houses the lamp or lamps and can include all or
some of the following parts: a housing, a mounting bracket or pole socket,
a lamp holder, a ballast, a reflector or mirror, and/or a refractor or lens.
Flood or Spot light: Any light fixture or lamp that incorporates a reflector
or a refractor to concentrate the light output into a directed beam in a
particular direction.
Glare: Light emitting from a luminaire with an intensity great enough to
reduce a viewer's ability to see, and in extreme cases causing momentary
blindness.
Height of Luminaire: The height of a luminaire shall be the vertical distance
from the ground directly below the centerline of the luminaire to the lowest
direct-light-emitting part of the luminaire.
Indirect Light: Direct light that has been reflected or has scattered off of
other surfaces.
Lamp: The component of a luminaire that produces the actual light.
Light Trespass: The shining of light produced by a luminaire beyond the
boundaries of the property on which it is located.
Lumen: A unit of luminous flux. One footcandle is one lumen per square foot.
For the purposes of this Ordinance, the lumen-output values shall be the
INITIAL lumen output ratings of a lamp.
Luminaire: This is a complete lighting system, and includes a lamp or lamps
and a fixture.
Outdoor Lighting: The night-time illumination of an outside area or object
by any man-made device located outdoors that produces light by any means.
Temporary outdoor lighting: The specific illumination of an outside area of
object by any man-made device located outdoors that produces light by any
means for a period of less than 7 days, with at least 180 days passing
before being used again.
ARTICLE 2
2.1. REGULATIONS: All public and private outdoor lighting installed in the
Town of Kennebunkport shall be in conformance with the requirements established
by this Ordinance.
2.2. CONTROL OF GLARE -- LUMINAIRE DESIGN FACTORS:
A. Any luminaire with a lamp or lamps rated at a total of MORE than 1800
lumens, and all flood or spot luminaires with a lamp or lamps rated at a total
of MORE than 900 lumens, shall not emit any direct light above a horizontal
plane through the lowest direct-light-emitting part of the luminaire.
B. Any luminaire with a lamp or lamps rate at a total of MORE than 1800
lumens, and all flood or spot luminaires with a lamp or lamps rated at a total
of MORE than 900 lumens, shall be mounted at a height equal to or less than
the value 3 + (D/3), where D is the distance in feet to the nearest property
boundary. The maximum height of the luminaire may not exceed 25 feet.
2.3. EXCEPTIONS:
A. Any luminaire with a lamp or lamps rated at a total of 1800 lumens or
LESS, and all flood or spot luminaires with a lamp or lamps rated at 900
lumens or LESS, may be used without restriction to light distribution or
mounting height, except that if any spot of flood luminaire rated 900 lumens
or LESS is aimed, directed, or focused such as to cause direct light from the
luminaire to be directed toward residential buildings on adjacent or nearby
land, or to create glare perceptible to persons operating motor vehicles on
public ways, the luminaire shall be redirected or its light output controlled
as necessary to eliminate such conditions.
B. Luminaires used for public-roadway illumination may be installed at
a maximum height of 25 feet and may be positioned at that height up to the
edge of any bordering property.
C. All temporary emergency lighting need by the the Police or Fire
Departments or other emergency services, as well as all vehicular luminaires,
shall be exempt from the requirements of this article.
D. All hazard warning luminaires required by Federal regulatory agencies
are exempt from the requirements of this article, except that all luminaires
used must be red and must be shown to be as close as possible to the Federally
required minimum lumen output requirement for the specific task.
E. Luminaires used primarily for sign illumination may be mounted at any
height to a maximum of 25 feet, regardless of lumen rating.
2.4. TEMPORARY OUTDOOR LIGHTING
A. Any temporary outdoor lighting that conforms to the requirements of
this Ordinance shall be allowed. Nonconforming temporary outdoor lighting
may be permitted by the Board of Selectmen after considering: (1) the public
and/or private benefits that will result from the temporary lighting; (2) any
annoyance or safety problems that may result from the use of the temporary
lighting; and (3) the duration of the temporary nonconforming lighting. The
applicant shall submit a detailed description of the proposed temporary
nonconforming lighting to the Board of Selectmen, who shall consider the
request at a duly called meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Prior notice of
the meeting of the Board of Selectmen shall be given to the applicant and to
the Kennebunkport Lighting Committee. The Board of Selectmen shall render
its decision on the temporary lighting request within two weeks of the date of
the meeting. A failure by the Board of Selectmen to act on a request within
the time allowed shall constitute a denial of the request.
ARTICLE 3
3.1. EFFECTIVE DATE AND GRANDFATHERING OF NONCONFIRMING LUMINAIRES:
A. This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon approval by the
voters of the Town of Kennebunkport at an annual or special Town Meeting and
shall supersede and replace all previous ordinances pertaining to outdoor
lighting.
B. All luminaires lawfully in place prior to the date of the Ordinance
shall be grandfathered. However, any luminaire that replaces a grandfathered
luminaire, or any grandfathered luminaire that is moved, must meet the
standards of this Ordinance.
ARTICLE 4
4.1. AUTHORIZATION FOR INSTALLATION OF PUBLIC AREA AND ROADWAY LIGHTING:
A. Installation of any new public-area and roadway lighting fixtures
other than for traffic control shall be specifically approved at an Annual
Town Meeting.
B. Before any proposal for new multiple public roadway lighting
luminaires shall be included in a Warrant for an annual Town Meeting, the
Lighting Committee and the Board of Selectmen or its representative shall
hold a public hearing to describe the proposal and to provide an opportunity
for public comment. Notice of the hearing shall be printed in a newspaper
of general circulation not less than one (1) week prior to the date of the
hearing and shall be posted for a period of at least one (1) week before the
meeting.
ARTICLE 5
5.1. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
A. The Town of Kennebunkport building permit shall include a statement
asking whether the planned project will include any outdoor lighting.
B. Within 30 days of the enactment of this ordinance, the Code
Enforcement Officer shall send a copy of the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, with
cover letter to all local electricians and local electric utility (including
at least those in the towns of Kennebunkport, Kennebunk, Wells, Arundel, and
Biddeford, as listed in the NYNEX Yellow Pages).
ARTICLE 6
6.1. VIOLATIONS, LEGAL ACTIONS, AND PENALTIES:
A. Violations and Legal Actions: If, after investigation, the Code
Enforcement Officer finds that any provision of the Ordinance is being
violated, he shall give notice by hand delivery or by certified mail,
return-receipt requested, of such violation to the owner and/or to the
occupant of such premises, demanding that violation be abated within thirty
(30) days of the date of hand delivery or of the date of mailing of the
notice. If the violation is not abated within the thirty-day period, the
Code Enforcement Officer may institute actions and proceedings, either legal
or equitable, to enjoin, restrain, or abate any violations of this Ordinance
and to collect the penalties for such violations.
B. Penalties: A violation of this Ordinance, or any provision thereof,
shall be punishable by a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100), and
each day of violation after the expiration of the thirty-day period provided
in paragraph 1 shall constitute a separate offense for the purpose of
calculating the civil penalty.