A Queenston resident says bright outdoor lights from neighbouring homes are spilling into her yard and making it hard to enjoy her property at night.
Jane Calver, who wants Niagara-on-the-Lake to crack down on light pollution, raised the concern during a March 10 committee of the whole meeting. She urged councillors to consider stronger rules on outdoor lighting.
“I feel like I’ve lost the use of my property.”
Calver told council she believes the town’s current rules leave gaps when it comes to outdoor lighting.
“It’s such that I don’t enjoy being in my backyard,” she said.
Today’s bylaws, Calver said, fail to address light spilling from one property onto another — what she described as “light infiltration” — and do not require lights to be shielded or directed away from neighbouring homes.
Calver said the problem is residential lighting and became apparent after a neighbouring property was redeveloped and split into several lots, with new homes using multiple exterior spotlights.
At the meeting, she referenced research on light-pollution bylaws across Ontario that she had done, as well as reviews of guidance from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
“At first, it was about me and my property,” Calver said. But then she noticed “a lot of light infiltration on people’s yards.”
She spoke with other residents in the neighbourhood when she walked her dog during the daytime and “a lot of people feel the same way,” said Calver.
One Chautauqua resident told her the light spilling onto their property was so severe they had put up garbage bags to block it.
During discussion, when Coun. Tim Balasiuk asked whether she had spoken with the homeowner involved, Calver said she had spoken with a previous owner, who adjusted the lights, but the situation changed after the property was redeveloped.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita asked whether lighting could be redirected or shielded.
“They can be shielded,” Calver said.
Cheropita also asked staff whether the town has the authority to force homeowners to turn off their lights.
Staff said that would be difficult.
“I don’t believe we have the ability to tell people how they can keep their lights on,” Fire Chief Jay Plato said, adding that regulating light intrusion can be challenging.
“The wording of the bylaw, right now, does speak to the light not intruding or creating, essentially not shining, into other people’s houses,” Plato said, “because that was a concern that we had brought forward to us.”
He said controlling lighting is “very, very difficult.”
“It was considered when the review for the bylaw came forward,” said Plato.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor said the issue has been raised before and pointed to previous work by the town’s environmental advisory committee.
“The environmental advisory committee has dealt with this issue,” O’Connor said, noting there had once been a draft nuisance-lighting bylaw.
“Somehow that got morphed into property standards.”
O’Connor said staff should take another look at the issue in light of work previously done by the committee “to address some of these concerns” that Calver raised, “plus other people I know that have raised concerns — even me.”
“I’m very sensitive to that issue,” she said, before she brought forward a motion recommending staff review that earlier work and report back on what options may be available.
But staff cautioned against changing the town’s bylaws before staff examine whether existing rules already address the problem.
“Our first step should be to investigate the existing concern that’s been brought forward,” said chief administrative officer Nick Ruller.
He said the town’s bylaw enforcement manager has indicated this year’s changes to the property standards bylaw “aim to ensure property owners minimize light intrusion and light trespass” through the use of light deflectors or by replacing fixtures.
“I appreciate her willingness to come and delegate,” Ruller said of Calver, but “at this point, I think it would be more appropriate for us to have staff work with her, identify and evaluate the concerns.”
He said his understanding was that “the staff had offered to investigate further the concerns that she brought forward.”
Later in the meeting, while council discussed a report outlining bylaw enforcement activity in NOTL, Burroughs referenced Calver’s concerns, during a discussion about the kinds of bylaws staff enforce and how the town handles them.
“Earlier this evening, we heard about lighting issues,” Burroughs said. “Are our staff confident that they’re dealing with them the best that we’re able at this point?”
Staff said updates to the property standards bylaw added new provisions for noise and lighting and the town believes it can enforce them, but will continue monitoring how effective they are.
