The Rutherford County Zoning Ordinance defines light trespass as light from an outdoor luminaire that shines beyond the property at a brightness exceeding 0.1 foot-candles at the property line, and its glare standards cap illumination at 0.5 foot-candles at a residential boundary.
Rutherford County addresses a neighbor's spillover lighting through its zoning definitions and Section 1106 glare performance standards. The ordinance defines Light Trespass as any light emitted by an outdoor luminaire that shines directly beyond the property on which the luminaire is installed, or indirectly shines beyond it, at a brightness that exceeds 0.1 foot-candles at the property line. Section 1106 further requires that site lighting be shielded to keep directly emitted light within the emitting lot, and that glare not cause illumination over 0.5 foot-candles at a residential district boundary or street right-of-way line. Complaints go to the county Planning/Building Codes staff for unincorporated land; in Murfreesboro, Smyrna, or La Vergne, the city applies its own lighting rules. Neighbors may
Lighting exceeding these thresholds is a zoning violation the county can require corrected; such violations are misdemeanors punishable as other misdemeanors and fined as prescribed by Tennessee statutes. Severe cases may also support a private nuisance action.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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