Leamington is taking a hard line on light pollution from area greenhouses.
Council agreed on a new light abatement by-law Tuesday night that will see all curtains closed from one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise. The by-law will allow for 90 per cent closure of ceiling curtains between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Greenhouses without side curtains will have until April 1, 2021 to have them installed and those without ceiling curtains have until October 1, 2021 to install them.
Mayor Hilda MacDonald says some in the industry said the municipality "dropped the ball" by waiting to establish rules and she finds that offensive.
"I was hoping the industry could regulate itself, that they would listen to the outcry from the public and the lights would go out, but we did not see that happen," she says.
MacDonald says the dates set out by the town are fair and firm.
"There's been no attempt, so if we already put in an escape clause at this point, I think that escape clause will be used," she added.
She says the town doesn't want to alienate an industry that supports families, but those families are the ones who brought the issue forward.
"We are taking them into consideration and giving their points of view some validity," she says.
An interim by-law will go into effect on Jan.1. If a greenhouse doesn't already have the proper curtains in place, it will not be allowed to operate grow lights at the facility between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. — and not at all if they don't add the proper equipment by the prescribed deadlines.
Violations under the by-law would see up to a $1,000 fine for each day of infraction and any greenhouse that repeatedly ignores the by-law could face legal action from the town.