Perth Amboy, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

The rule sits in § 430-60 of the Perth Amboy City Code, Subsection K, the general performance standards that every land use in the City of Perth Amboy has to meet alongside its zoning district rules. Item (2), titled Glare, contains two sentences. The first is a flat boundary rule: no use shall direct or reflect light beyond its lot lines. The second sets the method: exterior lighting, and lighting resulting from any manufacturing or assembly operations, shall be shielded, buffered and directed as approved on the site plan.

The test is written around neighbors, not around a meter reading. The shielding must ensure that any glare, direct light or reflection will not interfere with the normal use of nearby properties, dwelling units and streets. Both direct light and reflection are covered, and streets are protected along with neighboring homes.

Because the shielding is tied to the approved site plan, that plan is the yardstick when a neighbor complains. Article X adds a parking lot rule in § 430-61A(9): parking areas and driveways serving commercial and industrial uses are illuminated between sunset and sunrise while the use is operating, and those users must provide adequate shielding to protect adjacent residential zones from the glare of the illumination and of automobile headlights. After 12:00 midnight the operator can cut the lighting by not more than fifty percent (50%) of the total lighting required. Section 430-61A(10) sets an average of five-tenths (0.5) horizontal footcandle across a parking area and caps freestanding light poles at the height of the highest principal building served or twenty (20) feet, whichever is less.

The Zoning officer administers and enforces the zoning provisions under § 430-101C(1). Any person can file a written complaint with the administrative official under § 430-108, and the official must record it and investigate.