Adopted by the Cornelius Board of Commissioners on March 15, 1999.

General Policy
The Town of Cornelius, as a part of its municipal service program, provides street lighting along all  public streets within the corporate limits. All requests for street lighting installation and removal are to be submitted in writing to the Town manager.

General Guidelines
The Town of Cornelius, as a minimum standard, provides street lighting on existing publicly-dedicated streets in accordance with the following schedule:

Single Family Residential Areas:
100 Watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulb mounted on 30 foot wood poles, 500 feet on-center.

Multi-Family, Mixed-Use, and Commercial Areas:
250 Watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulb mounted on 30 foot wood poles, 300 feet on-center.

• Consideration should be made to place all lighting at all intersections and other high pedestrian use areas.
• Lighting should be planned to ensure adequate illumination for safety of both the pedestrian and the automobile.
• Where sidewalks exist on one side of the street only, street lighting will be
  placed on that side to ensure adequate illumination for the pedestrian.
• Additional lighting on a street with existing lighting should be similar in
  style and illumination to the existing lighting.

Decorative Lighting
Neighborhood Lighting
Neighborhoods may request a decorative light option in lieu of the standard wood pole and light.  If approved by the Town Manager, all lights placed in the neighborhood must be compatible.  Any cost differential between a standard installation (cobra head fixture on a wooden pole) and a different pole/fixture chosen, including additional underground costs, must be paid by the neighborhood prior to authorization of installation fixtures.

Thoroughfare and Collector Street Lighting
Where underground wiring currently exists, the Town of Cornelius may provide decorative pole fixtures at the Town’s Expense, subject to the approval of the Town Board. 

Standards for Acceptance By Town
The Town of Cornelius may choose to take over responsibility for payment of monthly billing of a street light, provided that the street light:

• Is within Town-owned right-of-way, and
• Is within a street right-of-way accepted for maintenance purposes by the Town of Cornelius or the North Carolina Department of Transportation; and
• Meets Town standards, or the petitioner has paid any cost to have the light brought up to Town standards.

Takeover billing shall become effective for the billing cycle following the approval of the request.  The Town will not reimburse any billing for which the requesting party is responsible or for which the Town has not authorized Duke Power company, EnergyUnited, or ElectriCities to bill it.  This includes any billing between the date of the citizen's request and the date of the changeover of billing.  Take-over billing is only applicable for maintenance and electricity billing only.  The Town will not accept any take-over billing of decorative lighting fixtures until all premium costs are paid in full. 

Lighting in Excess of Town Standards
The Town may accept street lighting that exceeds the Town’s standards for spacing and/or illumination subject to approval by the Town Manager. 

Natural Gas Lighting
Due to their low lighting capability and maintenance requirements, natural gas lights are not eligible for this program.

Individual Residential Lighting
Individual residential lights may be installed on request by the public to the extent funds are approved.  Requests for upgrading of an individual light will be treated in the same manner as an individual request for a new street light.  The style of fixture to be installed must be consistent with the style of fixture already installed in the neighborhood.  Any cost differential from the amount charged to the Town for a standard fixture (cobra head fixture on a wooden pole) and a decorative fixture, at the date of authorization must be paid to the Town, by the requester, as a one-time-only charge, prior to authorization.  If decorative lighting is requested and the neighborhood has no decorative lighting previously approved, an endorsement by the neighborhood association (or if none is present, the neighborhood contact) is required, since future requests for lighting would need to conform to the same decorative lighting future option.

Annexation Areas
Upon annexation of an area by the Town of Cornelius, the Town will initiate the erection of street lighting in accordance with this policy prior to the effective date of the annexation.  Notification of the street lighting policy and the Town’s intent to erect street lighting in accordance with this policy will be forwarded to a recognized Homeowner’s Association or Neighborhood Representative.  Where no such group or person exists who can represent the neighborhood, the Town will send notice to each property owner within the neighborhood.

Such notice will include a map of the neighborhood and the proposed locations for the lighting.  The Town will make every effort to accommodate individual homeowner’s requests provided they meet the overall intent of the Policy. The Town will not process a work order to erect street lighting until it has received approval from the authorized neighborhood representative or where no such person exists, a majority of the homeowners in the neighborhood.

An opportunity will be provided to the neighborhood to install decorative light fixture in accordance with the Section III of this Policy prior to initiation of a work order by the Town.

In areas where street lighting exists, the Town Manager will authorize takeover billing of the lighting provided the premium costs for any decorative lighting fixtures are paid in full by the neighborhood prior to the take-over in accordance with Section IV of this Policy.

Removal of Street Lighting
An individual homeowner or neighborhood organization may request removal of a street light provided the overall lighting pattern in the neighborhood is consistent with this Policy.  Requests to remove all lighting within a neighborhood shall require the unanimous consent of all property owners within the neighborhood.

Other
Citizens requesting lighting not on public street rights-of-way within Cornelius will be referred to the appropriate electric utility. The requesting party will be responsible for all costs associated with lighting non-public street rights-of-way or for which the Town has not authorized installation by the appropriate electric utility to install lighting.