Local greenhouse growers are continuing efforts to curtail some of the glow seen across Windsor-Essex.
Several local municipalities have passed or are in the process of working on nuisance bylaws as complaints continue to pile up from residents opposed to the orange and purple glow emanating from greenhouses when the sun goes down.
Joe Sbrocchi is General Manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.
He says, once they get their house in order, other sectors of the industry should follow.
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"I can only speak for the greenhouse vegetable growers. The cannabis people, that's a different story. That being said, we are the biggest player in the area, the vegetable side of the equation, and if we are able to get to that point, I feel pretty confident that everybody else would be able to follow along," says Sbrocchi.
He's confident a solution can be found, they just need some time.
"Number one, we're residents here too. Once you get outside of the GTA {Greater Toronto Area}, this is an economic hub that owes a lot of its life blood to the greenhouse sector. So we want to be a vibrant part of the community and a contributing part of the community," says Sbrocchi.
He says the whole industry wants to do what's best.
"I came here three months ago and the first month that I sat in this seat one of the things that we identified as a move forward was a good neighbour policy involving, in particular, light. So we want to do what's most right," adds Sbrocchi.
A bylaw passed in Leamington came into effect January 1 — it requires greenhouses to have side and end curtains installed by April 1 and ceiling curtains installed by October 1.
With files from Patty Handysides