Until a few months ago, Chris didn’t mind sharing a fence with a grocery store. Being able to scoot next door to pick up a few items would be pretty convenient. Then the lights came on. Two terrible, bright, glaring parking lot lights. They shine in his windows, illuminating his bedroom to an extent that even the thickest curtains can’t block. The lights are, of course, on 24/7. The store manager promises to solve the situation, but no solution is in sight. The only things in sight are those parking lot lights. Those bright, bright parking lot lights. What would the Consumerists do?
In my neighborhood, we share a fence with a large grocery store and up until a few months ago, they were not such bad neighbors. The convenience of the store outweighed the disadvantages of the noise. However, during some recent city electrical work, two formerly dormant parking lights were reactivated directly at my property line. The arc sodium lights now cast their garish glare fully into my backyard and bedroom windows. Even with heavy curtains, the light still invades the house.
Complaints to the manager of the store are met with positive response and the promise of a solution, but six months have shown no result. As a renter, what are my rights and courses of action? Should the property owner be fighting this for me? is there something more I can do as an individual? Should the city or a lawyer be involved?
We didn’t ask whether Chris had tried Eclipse brand curtains, which claim to block more than 100% of light, but it would be hard to access Gmail from inside a black hole, so that seems unlikely.
Whether the city should be involved involves the codes in Chris’s city, and whether they regulate commercial and residential properties bordering each other, and what kind of lights stores can have and inflict on their neighbors. Check with the city. As the directly affected party, discuss it with your landlord, but deal with the city directly.
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It must be nice, though, to have a grocery store parking lot well-lit enough to cause this problem.
Mylar should block 100% of the light.
lol was my post really deleted?
Wood blinds and light block curtains ought to take care of the problem.
If all else fails there is an access cover near the bottom of the pole. When the lights are off during the day, remove the cover and cut the wires one at a time with insulated wire cutters (just in case). If the mgmt is intent on them working they will fix them even if shot out but if they let it go then problem solved.
Of course the more stink you make the more you will be suspect if something happens to them…
You shouldn’t have to put blackout curtains on your windows to keep bad lighting out.
First, check to see if your city has ordinances regarding lighting and light pollution, looking for words like glare or light trespass. Many cities do, many don’t. You can also call the city and speak with an inspector, or ask one to come out.
Lighting fixtures are available, called “full cutoff fixtures”, that can help greatly. Either forced by city code, or by willing cooperation, the owner of the facility could install them. There are also add-on metal shields for some fixtures that can be attached to the fixture to redirect the light towards the ground. A full-cutoff fixture usually requires a lower wattage lamp, since less light is wasted. One with a timer, so that the light is only on at night during the hours the store is open, would also save electricity. So the owner would eventually get back the cost of the fixtures by saving on electricity.
A great source of information on good (and bad) lighting, glare, light trespass, wasting energy (since they are on 24/7), light pollution, etc. is the International Dark Sky Association – http://www.darksky.org. There you can find tutorials on good and bad lighting, model city lighting ordinances, approved fixtures, etc.
Most, if not all, town codes/zoning requirements specify provisions which do not allow light to spill over into adjacent property and require lights to be on timers.
If you can’t sort out the problem with the supermarket management, I would highly suggest visiting your town or municipalities zoning and planning board.
Easy fix. Shoot the lights out. a .22 or a really strong bb gun should suffice.
I’d probably do it one of three ways, myself.
I’d try legal and polite first. If the store won’t respond to a neighborly request, check to see if there are light pollution laws. If not, take them to court. Sue them for creating a public nuisance, and ask for a restraining order against them.
Lower budget and equally legal, but not as polite would be to buy one or more of those 5+ million candle power portable spotlights and aim them over your back fence into the store doorways. Even in daylight, store customers will very much dislike that, and at night it would be worse. And if creating light pollution isn’t illegal what can they do about it?
Illegal (but effective): Shoot out the light. If you’re worried about criminal charges, use a paintball gun to paint over the lens of the light.
Or for that matter, why stop at 5 million? This, FTW:
Cyclops C18MIL Thor X Colossus 18 Million Candle Power Rechargable Halogen Spotlight
Everyone that keeps saying “shoot out the light” is not considering that they will most likely replace it. It will be costly, so they’ll be looking to get someone arrested and being forced to pay for it. They will immediately think of the person who has complained the most about the lights. Then the video from the many cameras trained on the parking lot (since this is obviously a security-conscious kind of store) will be reviewed and you will be on it.
But mainly, what’s to stop them from replacing the light?
Light pollution is the reason the Lord put pellet rifles in the hands of Patriots…
Does the store’s insurance require the entire parking lot to be lit at all times? My guess is that if this is the case, then there’s no chance that the store will do anything. Broken lights would only get replaced…
It’s a shame these lights are on 24/7. What good does a light do on during the middle of the day?
If they were on sensors (as most lights where I live are) you could use one of those smaller, highly directional light units to trick the sensor into thinking it’s bright outside, which would cut the light off. It doesn’t even have to be an expensive or powerful light if the beam is tight enough at the sensor.
Air rifle.
22 if the air rifle don’t do the trick.