Bristol, PA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

The lighting rule for billboards is in § 22-524, Lighting, in Chapter 22 of the Bristol Borough Code. Subsection 5.J covers lighting for signs, building facades, billboards, structures, fountains, trees and shrubs: every luminaire must be full cutoff, and externally illuminated signs and billboards must be lighted from the top of the structure and aimed downwards. The section defines full cutoff as a distribution where zero candela intensity occurs at an angle of 90° above nadir, and at all angles above nadir.

The general regulations in subsection 4 apply to the same section. No lighting is permitted that results in glare beyond an angle of 30° from vertical plane or beyond the property boundaries, and searchlights, flashing strobe lights, and laser lights are prohibited. Unless the section provides otherwise, fixtures cannot exceed 15 feet from finished grade, 20 feet for LED fixtures meeting the glare requirements, and 12 feet in the historic district. The section does not apply to installations operating before its effective date, except for any installation that creates a safety hazard as deemed by the Borough.

Billboards are zoned in § 27-602: they are permitted only in the HC-1 District, limited to a maximum area of 200 square feet, spaced no closer than 1,000 feet from another billboard on the same side of the street or meeting the space requirements of the Pennsylvania Beautification Act, and built to the PaUCC structural and electrical standards. Under § 27-607, direct lighting must be shielded so no direct light will shine on abutting properties or in the normal line of vision of the public using the streets, and flashing, blinking, twinkling, animated or moving signs are prohibited except time and temperature portions and electronic message board signs.