Backstory: Neighborhood was literally pitch black when I moved here, which was one of the selling points. No streetlights until a few years ago, but for the most part pretty dark. No issues with neighbors lighting. . . Until a few nights ago. House with adjacent backyard installed a very bright porch light between their house and detached garage. One of those half dome deals that lights up everything around it and does not point in any one direction. Even with my bedroom blinds closed (2" horizontal wood, they're fabulous) it's still bright.
So I decided to take the diplomatic approach. I walked over, politely introduced myself and asked if she could either turn it off at night or install a motion sensor. i could tell that she was immediately salty from me even asking for her attention. She replies, "It already has a motion sensor". I say "no, it's on all night, so it's not motion activated". She says, "Oh, I mean dusk til dawn" and goes on to explain that she has security concerns and is in the process of renovating for a sale. I ask if she would consider getting a different fixture that doesn't light up every direction, and would even help pay for it, and she bruskly shot that down and basically told me to install blackout curtains.
At that point I said, "Well, it'd be nice if you could have a little bit of consideration for your neighbors" and that's when she exploded
and said "SIR THAT IS vERY RUDE!!! YOU CAN INSTALL CURTAINS!!!"
In fairness, I understand that she is probably stressed out with the renovation, sale and security issues. Or that if I were to move into a well lit neighborhood, it would be on me to keep the light out. I also respect the rights of homeowners to do with and secure their home as they wish.
That said, is it really unreasonable to ask your neighbor to be considerate with their lighting? I've always felt that people who feel the need to light up the whole neighborhood are basically a rung on the ladder below people who drive under the speed limit in the left lane as being most deserved of being slowly lowered into a barrel of acid.
The local ordinance appears to be on my side, so I will Karen the city tomorrow. Anybody have luck with this sort of thing after failing at going the neighborly route?
So I decided to take the diplomatic approach. I walked over, politely introduced myself and asked if she could either turn it off at night or install a motion sensor. i could tell that she was immediately salty from me even asking for her attention. She replies, "It already has a motion sensor". I say "no, it's on all night, so it's not motion activated". She says, "Oh, I mean dusk til dawn" and goes on to explain that she has security concerns and is in the process of renovating for a sale. I ask if she would consider getting a different fixture that doesn't light up every direction, and would even help pay for it, and she bruskly shot that down and basically told me to install blackout curtains.
At that point I said, "Well, it'd be nice if you could have a little bit of consideration for your neighbors" and that's when she exploded
and said "SIR THAT IS vERY RUDE!!! YOU CAN INSTALL CURTAINS!!!"In fairness, I understand that she is probably stressed out with the renovation, sale and security issues. Or that if I were to move into a well lit neighborhood, it would be on me to keep the light out. I also respect the rights of homeowners to do with and secure their home as they wish.
That said, is it really unreasonable to ask your neighbor to be considerate with their lighting? I've always felt that people who feel the need to light up the whole neighborhood are basically a rung on the ladder below people who drive under the speed limit in the left lane as being most deserved of being slowly lowered into a barrel of acid.
The local ordinance appears to be on my side, so I will Karen the city tomorrow. Anybody have luck with this sort of thing after failing at going the neighborly route?
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