Haverford, PA Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 76-4J is the Township's light trespass measurement. It applies to nonresidential uses and sets a hard number: light from the source cannot cause illumination in excess of 0.5 footcandle when measured in a Residential District. The reading is taken on the residential side, so the test follows the light onto the neighbor's land. The one exemption covers lighting equipment operated by the Township or School District in Recreation and Open Space Districts.

Chapter 76 reaches all nonresidential land uses in the Township. Its purpose clause (§ 76-2) is to make nonresidential development environmentally compatible with adjacent land uses with respect to levels of noise, vibration, glare, emissions, odor and toxic materials. Section 76-3A makes the chapter's standards the minimum, and stricter standards in other Township ordinances still apply. An environmental performance permit is required for the uses listed in § 182-503B, and an application carries a certification from a professional engineer registered in Pennsylvania that the proposed use can meet the performance standards.

The zoning chapter adds site-specific lighting rules. Section 182-717F covers the O-1, O-2, C-1 through C-5, OL, INS and LIN districts and bars direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or from a high-temperature process, from being visible from adjoining public streets or adjacent lots when viewed by a person standing at ground level. In the C-4 District, gasoline service stations (§ 182-405D(15)) and car wash establishments (§ 182-405E(14)) must shield exterior lighting so it is deflected away from adjacent properties and from passing motorists. Off-site advertising signs at transit shelters have their own limit: no more than 0.2 footcandle of light detectable at the boundary of any abutting property (§ 182-701G(1)(e)).