Leamington Council defers light abatement by-law for public input

LEAMINGTON — A proposed by-law for greenhouse light abatement in Leamington will have to wait a little longer.

Administration brought two options with them to the council meeting of October 27.

Option 1 included a deferral of enacting the by-law so they could gather public input and make a better-informed decision.

Option 2 called for the by-law to be enacted without public consultation.

The municipality’s Legal Services Director, Ruth Orton, explained the background behind the proposed by-law, letting council know that administration had met with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agri-Food Canada in recent years.

Orton explained that The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) recommended light abatement from 11pm to 6 am, back in 2019.

Meanwhile, OMAFRA continues to work on solutions for light abatement, but according to Orton, it may be awhile.

“We don’t expect results of that until the fall of 2023,” she said. “And we feel the residents here can’t afford to wait that long.”

Light abatement can be achieved through sidewall, endwall and ceiling blackout curtains, and it’s estimated by OGVG that the cost to do that is about $50,000 per acre.

The by-law on the table calls for 100 per cent of light emitting from greenhouses to be eliminated at certain times of the day — specifically, for sidewall and endwall light to be eliminated from one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise.

For the ceiling curtains, they must be closed from 10 pm to 7 am each day.

Enforcement of these rules commence six months after the enactment of the by-law for the side and end walls, and one year after enactment for the ceiling curtains.

Mayor Hilda MacDonald asked about greenhouses that don’t emit light.

“If an owner chooses to just not turn on his lights at night, can we allow for that?” she asked.

Orton explained that if the lights were not turned on, the intent of the by-law was met and there would be no reason for by-law enforcement to visit.

Councillor Paul Tiessen questioned the timeline with regard to the hours of darkness.

“Other jurisdictions are using sunset to midnight,” he said. The by-law, when enacted, will apply to both existing and new site plans.

Citizen Dan Kahraman, who lived here previously, but has now returned for his retirement, wants the plan expedited.

“I cannot enjoy my retirement property at all,” he said.

The Rd. 11 resident says that the quality of his night sky has declined since he moved back.

“In the time I’ve been here, the problem has mushroomed,” he said.

Justine Taylor, Joe Sbrocchi and Glen Snoek of the OGVG came on as a delegation and spoke to the logistic issues surrounding light abatement.

“We are working hard on finding a solution to achieving 100 per cent abatement,” said Taylor.

She also explained that, during the fall and winter months, ceiling curtains must be open to some extent to properly vent the greenhouses.

After much discussion, council voted to accept Option 2, which will allow for public input over the next few weeks, hoping to get some resolution before the holidays.

If you’d like to make your opinion known, visit leamington.ca/greenhouselight and state your case.