Showing ordinances that apply to Ramapo College of New Jersey, NJ
Ramapo College of New Jersey is an unincorporated community (population 2,200) in Bergen County, New Jersey. Because Ramapo College of New Jersey is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Bergen County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The dark sky rules rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Bergen County outdoor lighting is regulated by individual municipalities; no county-wide dark sky ordinance exists. Ridgewood, Franklin Lakes, and Upper Saddle River have adopted full-cutoff fixture requirements for new installations. Most Bergen towns limit commercial lighting to 0.5 foot-candles at residential property lines and require shielded fixtures in residential zones.
Bergen County has no unified dark sky ordinance, with each of the 70 municipalities setting outdoor lighting standards through zoning codes adopted under N.J.S.A. 40:55D (Municipal Land Use Law). Ridgewood Village Code §190-123 requires full-cutoff (fully shielded) fixtures for all new commercial and multi-family installations, maximum 3,500K color temperature, and 0.5 foot-candle maximum at residential property lines. Franklin Lakes Code §490-44 requires shielded fixtures and limits color temperature to 3,000K in residential zones. Upper Saddle River Code §230-127 adopted dark sky principles in 2019 requiring full-cutoff for new installations over 900 lumens. Paramus Code §429-98 addresses commercial parking lot lighting with 25-foot maximum pole height and shielding requirements. Hackensack Code §175-4.29 requires fully shielded fixtures in the Central Business District. Teaneck Code §33-9.8 limits spillover to 0.3 foot-candles at residential boundaries. Fort Lee Code §345-19.15 requires shielding and 0.5 foot-candle maximum at residential lines. The Bergen County Department of Planning has issued model ordinance language based on International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) recommendations. LED lighting retrofits must meet color temperature guidelines (typically 3,000K or below) to reduce blue light. Residential properties face fewer restrictions but nuisance-level glare is actionable under general property maintenance codes. New Jersey has no statewide dark sky preemption; regulation is purely local.
Non-compliant fixtures on new construction: permit denial or revocation. Notice to correct within 30 days for existing violations: fines $100 to $500 per fixture (Ridgewood §190-123.5), $100 to $1,000 (Paramus §429-98). Commercial violations: up to $2,000 per day in Upper Saddle River. Repeat offenders: daily fines under municipal code enforcement.
See how Ramapo College of New Jersey's dark sky rules rules stack up against other locations.
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