Taylor, MI Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Table 16.05 in Sec. 16.05(b)(1) sets minimum and maximum footcandle levels by location for any site subject to site plan approval. Parking lots, loading areas, sidewalks and building entrances must stay between 3 and 10 footcandles, up to 15 for auto dealerships and outdoor sales areas per footnote 3. Areas under canopies, such as gas stations and drive-through banks, run 3 to 20 footcandles. Along the front lot line adjacent to street frontage the range is 0.5 to 3 footcandles, dropping to 0.5 to 1 footcandle along a lot line adjoining another nonresidential use or district; footnote (5) lets the level rise to 5 footcandles where there is shared access or vehicular connections or the adjacent use is similar.

The tightest limit in the table applies along a lot line adjoining a residential use or district, capped at 0 to 0.5 footcandle, the mechanism Sec. 16.05(a)(4) describes as the intent to minimize light pollution and light trespass from light sources onto adjacent properties. Subsection (b)(2) additionally caps the uniformity ratio between average and minimum illumination across the developed portion of a site at 4:1, and footnote (1) allows levels to drop to 0.5 footcandle with a 10:1 uniformity ratio after midnight or after posted business hours, narrowing trespass exposure further late at night.