Despite the majority of greenhouse operators complying with Leamington’s rules to quell light pollution, the town’s mayor said the luminous night glow will never entirely disappear. “We’re getting there, but there will never be complete darkness,” Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald told the Star. “I’m already seeing much less light than what we had two years ago.”
Leamington Council passed the Light Abatement Bylaw in June 2022 to dilute the bright purple, yellow, and orange hues that can fill the local night skies. The bylaw requires greenhouse owners to use lights to install sidewall and end wall curtains and keep them closed daily from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Since October last year, growers were also required to close ceiling curtains.
There are exceptions — when curtains are only required to close 90 percent between 5 and 10 p.m. and 2 to 8 a.m. — to allow greenhouses to ventilate. Greenhouses that are non-compliant can be fined by the town’s bylaw department.
MacDonald said the town compromised with greenhouse growers in order to appease frustrated residents while also sustaining the area’s agricultural industry, which is vital to the economy. Some growers have taken legal action to fight the new rules.
Read more at windsorstar.com