Johns Creek has a full Night Sky Ordinance in Zoning Ordinance Section 4.9. Outdoor lighting must be full cutoff with no light above horizontal, bans aerial lasers, searchlights, mercury-vapor, sodium-vapor, and very intense lights, exempts holiday and pool lighting, and applies to permitted developments with curfews for recreational field lighting (10:30 p.m.).
Section 4.9 of the Johns Creek Zoning Ordinance is a comprehensive Night Sky Ordinance (adopted by Ord. No. 2014-06-23 and amended by Ord. No. 2015-12-42). Its purpose is to permit reasonable outdoor lighting for safety and commerce while curtailing degradation of the night sky, minimizing glare, obtrusive light, and sky glow, and conserving energy (Section 4.9.1). It applies to all land uses, developments, and buildings that require a permit, and is triggered for an entire property by additions or modifications of 25% or more, or replacement of 60% or more of permitted lumens (Section 4.9.3). The core standard (Section 4.9.4.A) requires all non-exempt outdoor lighting fixtures to be full cutoff, placed so as to allow no light above the horizontal as measured at the luminaire (period and cutoff fixtures are permitted exceptions). Section 4.9.3.C prohibits aerial lasers; searchlight-style lights; other very intense lighting exceeding 200,000 lumens or 2 million candelas; mercury-vapor lamps; exposed neon; sodium-vapor luminaires; promotional beacons; strobe/laser lights projected above the horizon; out-of-season colored lighting; flashing or reader-board lighting; exposed tube lighting; lighting outlining building elements; and sky-glow attention lighting. Exemptions (Section 4.9.3.B) include pool lighting, temporary holiday lighting, FAA-required lighting, emergency lighting, and motion-sensor security lighting active 10 minutes or less. Recreational-field lighting carries a 10:30 p.m. curfew (Section 4.9.5.A.4). Parking-lot poles are capped at 35 feet and pedestrian-path posts at 16 feet. Georgia has no statewide dark-sky law, so this local ordinance controls.
Installing or modifying outdoor lighting without submitting the required compliance plans and photometric data (Section 4.9.7), or using prohibited fixture types, can block issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy until an illumination professional certifies conformance. Non-conforming lighting is subject to code-enforcement correction. Variances must be sought from the Board of Zoning Appeals (Section 4.9.6).
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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