Monroe Township (Gloucester County), NJ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 175-91.2(C)(4) and (D), Billboards
- Aircraft
- No illumination that interferes with aircraft flight safety
- Neighbors
- Adjacent landowners and landowners within 50 feet protected
- Light source
- Cannot be directly visible from a right-of-way or adjacent property
- Flashing illumination
- Light change at intervals of less than six seconds
- Who decides glare
- The Zoning Officer
Summary
Section 175-91.2(C)(4) of the Monroe Township Code bars any billboard illumination that interferes with aircraft flight, with neighbors within 50 feet of the property, or with a motorist's vision, and requires the light source to be hidden from every right-of-way and adjacent property. Flashing and glaring billboards are prohibited outright.
(4) Lighting. In addition to the lighting restrictions of Monroe Township Code, which shall apply to all billboards in the Township of Monroe, no billboard shall be so illuminated that it: (a) Interferes with the safety of aircraft flight in the vicinity of the billboard. (b) Interferes with the use and enjoyment of property of any adjacent landowners and landowners within 50 feet of the property. (c) Allows the illumination source to be directly visible from any right-of-way or adjacent properties. (d) Interferes with the vision of a motorist. ... (3) Flashing billboards: off-premises billboards that include lights which flash, blink, or turn on and off intermittently. (4) Glaring billboards: off-premises billboards employing direct, indirect, internal, flashing, or other illumination with light sources or reflectivity of such brightness that constitutes a hazard to ground or air traffic or a nuisance, as determined by the Zoning Officer.
Full Breakdown
Billboard lighting in Monroe Township, Gloucester County, is controlled in two places in § 175-91.2. Subsection C(4) applies in addition to the lighting restrictions elsewhere in the Township Code and says no billboard can be illuminated so that it interferes with the safety of aircraft flight in the vicinity, interferes with the use and enjoyment of property of adjacent landowners and landowners within 50 feet of the property, allows the illumination source to be directly visible from any right-of-way or adjacent properties, or interferes with the vision of a motorist.
Subsection D lists prohibitions. D(3) bans flashing billboards, meaning off-premises billboards with lights that flash, blink, or turn on and off intermittently. D(4) bans glaring billboards, meaning off-premises billboards using direct, indirect, internal, flashing, or other illumination with light sources or reflectivity of such brightness that it constitutes a hazard to ground or air traffic or a nuisance, as determined by the Zoning Officer. D(2) bans animated and moving billboards, including searchlights.
The definitions fix the vocabulary. Flashing illumination is a light source that physically changes in light intensity, or gives the appearance of such change, at intervals of less than six seconds. Indirect illumination is a light source not seen directly, and internal illumination is a light source concealed or contained within the billboard that becomes visible in darkness through a translucent surface.
Under G(1), every billboard must also comply with the Uniform Building Code and the Electrical Code of the Township of Monroe at all times, and G(3) requires billboards to be maintained in compliance with all building and electrical codes. Illumination changes to an existing billboard are therefore reviewed against both this section and the electrical code.
Violations & Fines
The Zoning Officer decides whether a billboard's brightness is a hazard or nuisance, and can remove or order removal, at the owner's or lessor's expense, of any billboard not in compliance with § 175-91.2 under I(3). A billboard that poses an immediate peril to persons or property is removed under I(4). Section 175-91.2 prints no separate fine for lighting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Monroe Township billboard be internally lit?
Are flashing lights allowed on a billboard in Monroe Township?
Who decides whether a billboard is too bright?
How close can a neighbor be and still claim a lighting problem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe Township (Gloucester County)
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