East Orange, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

East Orange City Code § 51-189, in Article XXIX Design Standards of the Chapter 51 Land Use ordinance, sets the outdoor lighting trespass ceiling that every site plan reviewed by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment must meet. Subsection F(1) requires exterior areas to be illuminated at night for safety while being designed and installed to minimize glare or intrusive light onto adjoining properties. Subsection F(4)(a) sets the numeric limit: illumination at the property line of a project next to a residential use or residentially zoned property cannot exceed 0.5 footcandle at any point, and the limit rises to 1.0 footcandle where the adjacent property carries any other use.

Subsection F(4)(c)[4] applies the same 0.5-footcandle ceiling to one-, two-, three- and four-family homes themselves: those properties may light a driveway or walkway up to three footcandles but may not exceed 0.5 footcandle at any other point on the property line. Compliance is verified when the applicant's landscaping and lighting plan goes through the Site Plan Review Advisory Committee, and the Building Code Official will not issue a final certificate of occupancy until the approved lighting, including the shielding needed to hold the property-line reading down, has been installed and inspected.