Ridgewood, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Section 190-85 of Chapter 190, Article IX regulates outdoor illumination for both streets and private properties in the Village. The general design standard requires lighting to provide adequate illumination for traffic and pedestrian safety, security and property identification while preventing excessive illumination and glare, and requires proper orientation and shielding of fixtures so adjacent properties are not overlit. The operative shielding rule in Subsection C is specific and mandatory: every lighting fixture must be directed downward and equipped with the shielding necessary so that the direct source of light is not visible from any point beyond the property lines of the premises where the fixture stands, a full-cutoff, dark-sky-style standard rather than a vague glare prohibition.

Subsection D, amended by Ordinance No. 3120 on May 14, 2008, caps the height of any lighting structure at 20 feet, measured under the building-height methodology in § 190-119D(6). Streetlighting itself is exempted from these Village design controls and instead follows the installing utility company's own standards and specifications under Subsection B. For duration and intensity, Subsection E leaves the Planning Board discretion to set hours of operation and maximum lumen output case by case during site plan review, balancing the applicant's reasonable use of the property against detriment to abutting owners, and requires dimming to minimum security lighting when a facility is not in active use.

Finally, Subsection F requires all wiring for light fixtures to be run underground rather than strung between poles or buildings, an installation standard enforced alongside the shielding and height limits.