Allentown zoning requires all light sources, including signs, to be shielded and aimed so they do not create a nuisance for neighbors or shine into passing motorists' eyes. Parking-lot lighting must also be shielded to protect adjacent residential areas from glare.
Lehigh County does not zone, so Allentown Zoning Ordinance §1317.02.K.3 governs light trespass at the county seat. All light sources, including signs, must be shielded around the source and directed and placed to prevent lighting from creating a nuisance to persons in adjacent dwellings or undeveloped residentially zoned areas, and to prevent lighting from shining into the eyes of passing motorists. Separately, §1315 parking standards require lighting for nonresidential lots (or 20+ residential spaces) to include adequate shielding that protects adjacent residential districts from glare and headlights. A resident bothered by a neighbor's floodlights can report the glare to the city's zoning office as a performance-standard violation.
Unshielded lighting that spills onto neighbors is a performance-standard violation; after notice the city may require correction and can suspend the offending use within 60 days.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Lehigh County's light trespass rules stack up against other locations.
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