City to curb yard lights
Glare law stems from resident's police complaint
The Fort Wayne City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance designed to protect residents from light pollution, but not without some debate.
The council narrowly passed, 5-4, a law restricting residential lighting. The provision was added to an existing noise-control ordinance.
The law, pushed by Councilman John Shoaff, D-at large, determines lighting violates the law if it causes glare 5 feet inside a neighbor’s property. The glare must cause discomfort or limit the ability to see properly. The law does not apply to motion-sensor lights, which turn on and off, he said.
Shoaff recommended residents put shields on outdoor lighting to prevent glare that could cause discomfort to neighbors. The shields also better direct the light and can be purchased for about $20, Shoaff said.
Shoaff, an architect, also said that residents don’t need to use high-wattage outdoor lighting in many cases. He acknowledged there have been few instances in the city in which outdoor lights have caused problems.
He decided to introduce the change because of a problem between two neighbors. Twin lights in one resident’s yard floods the other’s bedroom window. Police were called to help end the dispute but officers were unable to do anything because there was no law to enforce, Shoaff said.
However, the proposal drew the ire of several other council members. Council President Tom Didier called it micromanaging.
And Councilwoman Liz Brown, R-at large, asked why residents couldn’t buy blackout shades instead of having the council regulate the entire city. She also questioned whether residents who try to out-decorate the Griswolds, the family in the holiday movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” would be in violation of the law.
“No one will complain about anyone’s Christmas lights,” Shoaff said.
But council members called the law vague, and Brown wondered how the city police department would enforce it.
Councilwoman Karen Goldner, D-2nd, said dealing with neighborhood issues has been the most frustrating problem she’s tackled during her first year on the council. She supported the law to provide the city and residents a tool to deal with such problems.
The council approved the changes in committee and then passed the provision into law during a final reading Tuesday.
Council members Shoaff, Goldner, Tim Pape, D-5, Glynn Hines, D-6 and Marty Bender, R-at large voted for the law. Council members Brown, Didier, Tom Smith, R-1st, and Mitch Harper, R-4th, voted against it during both readings.
In other business, the council gave final approval to issue a $30 million bond that would be paid back using county economic development income tax revenue. The money will be used for road and street projects.
The council also agreed to spend $185,500 to buy the Zanesville sanitary sewer system. The town currently sends its sewage to Fort Wayne for treatment and the buyout will reduce customers’ rates there.
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