A neighbourhood dispute has a Campbell River woman asking the city to regulate outdoor lighting.
Paula Bourque asked city council Thursday night to regulate the power and positioning of outdoor LED and halogen lighting where homes are closer than 15 meters (49 feet) from each other.
She would like a limit of 3,000 lumens or 200 watts.
It comes after she says her Jasmine Crescent neighbour deliberately aimed a 40,000 lumen floodlight at her home and it’s triggered by motion.
“It’s goes on and off all night and sometimes he does it on purpose to walk out there to just turn it on,” Bourque told Coun. Sean Smyth.
Bourque says bylaw officers and police are powerless because there are no nuisance lighting laws on the books.
“I’ve become stressed, losing sleep over it and quite anxious,” she said about her ordeal.
Bourque also noted the other neighbour’s yard and chicken coop are lit up too affecting the hens. “Chickens don’t lay eggs if they can’t sleep,” she said.
She notes a bylaw controlling nuisance lighting has been in place in Vancouver since 2019.
“I imagine you’ve tried communicating with your neighbour and that’s not successful, I gathered that,” Coun. Ron Kerr remarked before moving a motion to ask city staff to investigate.
City staff are expected to bring back a report on how the issue can be handled.
