West New York, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Two parts of the Code of the Town of West New York address light spilling onto a neighbor. The first is § 358-34, Lighting, in Chapter 358, Subdivision of Land (adopted 12-19-1984 as Ord. No. 1666). In connection with every site plan, the applicant must submit plans for all proposed exterior lighting showing the location of fixtures, type of light, radius of light and intensity in footcandles. Section 358-34(C) requires that where lights along property lines will illuminate adjacent residential property, the lights be appropriately shielded to minimize their impact on adjoining residential property. Section 358-34(F) sets intensities: parking lots an average of 1.5 footcandles throughout, intersections three footcandles, a maximum of 1.0 footcandle at tract lines, and an average of 0.6 footcandle in residential areas. Illumination levels are designed between 1.0 and 2.0 footcandles at the pavement surface with a uniformity ratio of not more than 6.0 for the site (§ 358-34(A)), and freestanding light standards cannot exceed the height of the principal building or 32 feet, with a maximum spacing of five times the mounting height (§ 358-34(B)).

The second is sign lighting in Chapter 338, Signs. Section 338-12(B) allows no more than three floodlights per surface of a sign, and the lighting must be at grade and properly directed and shielded so as not to produce glare or offensive light off the property. Under § 338-12(E), no sign can be artificially illuminated after 11:00 p.m. or before 7:00 a.m. unless the business is operating and/or attended and open to the public. A sign in a residential district can be lit only by indirect lighting with the source shielded so it illuminates only the face of the sign (§ 338-12(F)), and no sign's illumination can exceed 8,500 nits (§ 338-12(H)). The zoning chapter adds in § 414-22(D)(4) that signs causing direct glare into or upon a dwelling are prohibited where the glare would constitute a sustained nuisance.