New Britain, CT Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Section 250-80-20.30 of the Zoning Ordinance sets New Britain's core outdoor-lighting standard for billboards and other illuminated signs: light sources must be designed and shielded so that they cannot be seen from beyond the property line on which the sign sits. The rule adds a flat backstop clause covering every situation the shielding requirement might miss: in no event will glare be visible on adjacent properties or public areas, regardless of how the fixture is aimed or shielded. The only carve-out in this subsection is for signs using exposed neon tubes, which the ordinance allows in business and industrial districts only; neon is exempt from the shielding mandate but still cannot cause off-property glare under the same subsection.

This lighting standard applies on top of, not instead of, the separate rule against flashing or rotating illumination at Section 250-80-20.10, so a billboard operator must satisfy both: the fixture must be shielded from view beyond the lot line, and the display itself cannot flash or rotate except the narrow time-and-temperature exception. Because Section 250-80 sits inside Article 250, General Provisions, it applies to every sign type in every zoning district citywide, including the freestanding advertising signs and billboards separately zoned at Section 250-50. Enforcement runs through the same Section 250-90-40 penalty that governs the rest of Article 250: any person who maintains or displays a sign contrary to this section, including an unshielded or glare-producing light fixture, is subject to a fine of not more than $100 for each sign.