Millcreek, PA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 145-30 opens with a statement of purpose: keep ambient lighting levels as low as possible, maintain dark skies, and limit glare and spillage onto abutting properties or into the sky, while conserving energy without decreasing safety, utility, security or productivity. Subsection B turns that into the operating rule. Exterior lighting must be directed downward and shielded, or aimed at walls, landscape elements or similar features, so light stays inside the boundaries of the lot. It cannot blink, flash or be of unusually high intensity or brightness, and it must fit the height, intensity and scale of the use it serves.

Subsection D adds the hardware rules. Light sources must have a full cutoff so they do not direct light skyward, except sources no higher than three feet above Finished Grade. Nonresidential building-mounted lights top out at 25 feet, must be full cutoff and cannot be mounted above the roofline. Parking area lighting is limited to LED or high-pressure sodium, with metal halide allowed for architectural elements and pedestrian walkways. Walkway, private roadway, equipment yard and security lighting can stay on all night, while lighting for outdoor sales and eating areas, signs and recreational facilities must be off from 30 minutes after the business closes until sunrise.

Subsection C carves out exceptions. Fixtures legally installed before the section took effect are exempt until 50% or more of the luminaires are reconstructed or replaced, or a tenant or use change alters the hours of operation or intensity of nighttime use. For a single-family detached dwelling or duplex in the CR, R1 and R2 Districts, fixtures under 2,000 lumens are exempt if fully shielded, focused downward and no higher than 25 feet. Streetlights in public or private right-of-way follow the Township streetlighting policy instead.