Skowhegan, ME Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section XIII of the Town of Skowhegan Site Plan Review Ordinance, Neighborhood Compatibility Criteria, sets the standard. The proposed development will not result in an undue adverse impact on the existing use and quiet enjoyment of properties, both immediately abutting and within the neighborhood of the development. It will not produce noise, light, or other deleterious effects that would constitute a nuisance to neighboring properties, it will provide a buffer against its visual impacts, and it will blend, insofar as possible, with existing built-up neighborhoods.

This is a nuisance test applied by the Planning Board, which reviews all projects under Section X, and not a measured light level. The Site Plan Review Ordinance prints no foot-candle limit, fixture height or shielding requirement. The Board works from the application: Section XI requires the plan to show the location and type of exterior lighting, and the site inventory is meant to identify areas subject to off-site conflicts or concerns, including noise, lighting and traffic. Section III states that the purpose of the review includes minimizing the adverse impacts on adjacent properties.

Buffering is the printed tool for screening neighbors. A buffer must provide a year-round visual screen and can consist of fencing, evergreens, berms, rocks, boulders, mounds, or a combination. A buffer with moderate levels of planting should be ten (10) feet to fifteen (15) feet in width, and in suburban and rural settings the width of the vegetated buffer should be increased to a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet. Where the area between the street and the front of the building is used for parking or vehicle movement, the buffer strip along the road right-of-way widens from 10 feet for a building setback under 50 feet to 25 feet for a setback of 100 feet or more.

The criteria apply to projects that need site plan review, such as non-residential buildings of five thousand (5,000) square feet or more, and not to every lot in town.