East Orange, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

East Orange City Code § 51-189, part of the Design Standards article governing every site plan the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment reviews under Chapter 51 Land Use, sets the shielding standard for exterior lighting citywide. Subsection F(3) requires that all exterior lighting fixtures, however mounted, be provided with shields as necessary to confine the illumination to the site upon which it is located and to eliminate glare on any adjacent properties and adjacent streets. Subsection F(4)(d) adds a specific rule for architectural lighting: fixtures used to accent a building's features, materials, colors or style must be located, aimed and shielded so light is directed only onto those features, aimed or shielded so as to minimize light spill into the sky, and may not generate excessive light levels, cause glare, or direct light beyond the facade onto neighboring property, streets or the night sky.

The requirement sits alongside height limits in Subsection G capping freestanding lights at 20 feet in the R-1, R-2, R-3, TR-2 and TR-3 Districts and 25 feet elsewhere, and a cap of 20 feet above grade for building-mounted fixtures. A developer's landscaping and lighting plan is reviewed against these standards by the Site Plan Review Advisory Committee before the Building Code Official issues a certificate of occupancy. Because the shielding rule is written into the site plan chapter rather than a standalone dark-sky ordinance, it applies whenever new construction, an addition or a change of use triggers site plan approval, covering commercial, industrial, multifamily and institutional projects across every zoning district in the city.