Stafford Township, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Chapter 144 of the Stafford Township Code, Nuisances, Lighting, was adopted 7-5-2005 and its main standards in § 144-2 were amended 5-21-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-15. Section 144-2A is the numeric rule: the illumination provided by artificial lighting on the property shall not exceed 0.5 footcandle beyond any property line. Section 144-1 defines a footcandle as the amount of light from one candle at one foot from the source of the light.

The rest of the section limits where the beam goes. Under § 144-2B, spotlights or other lighting that provide a concentrated beam must be directed so the beam does not extend beyond any property line. Under § 144-2C, lighting that illuminates signs or building faces cannot emit beams that extend beyond the vertical plane of the sign or building face, and cannot be placed so the beams reflect onto an adjoining property, public street or vehicular circulation area.

Section 144-2D is the neighbor protection clause. No artificial lighting can shine directly upon any neighboring property, or directly on or into any room, porch or patio of a neighboring property. It also bars lighting maintained or operated from any structure or land in a way that is a nuisance or any annoyance to neighboring properties or that interferes with the physical comfort of the occupants of neighboring properties. Section 144-1 defines a structure to include a dwelling, barn, pole or elevated object capable of carrying exterior fixtures, so a pole light is covered as much as a house-mounted flood. Chapter 144 prints no measurement procedure, and its general references point to Chapter 130, Land use and development, and Chapter 211, Zoning, for site plan and zoning lighting rules.