Telescope Reviews: Just bought a house. Neighbor has floodlight

Hi Kelsey

I do not know what the lighting laws in the state of Texas are but in most parts of the nation and the world, there are “Light Trespass” laws. This is not a question of whether or not your neighbor wants to turn the light off or change it or shield it or not. It is the law! It has to do with health issues. He is in violation of the lighting laws. Plain and simple. Think of his extraneous light as a toxic drug that inhibits your sleep. It is a known deterrent to healthy sleep as it has been proven that lights shining into bedroom windows will inhibit restful sleep necessary to health and to perform ones job daily and or to proper health. Humans have evolved for thousands of years to sleep healthfully in the dark. That’s just a scientific fact. Anyone that opposes this fact needs to talk to the authorities or go back to school! It has also been proven that these so-called security lights are worthless and only waste electricity. It has been proven that they do nothing to deter crime and actually might even increase vandalism and theft in some cases.

You should read up on the International Dark Skies Association site. I am sure they have the information there that you need.

It is usually a step process in a civil manner that should be approached. First confront your neighbor in a courteous way. There is no need to hide your desire for the hobby of astronomy. You can also just decide to explain to the neighbor that his light inhibits your sleep as it shines into your windows at night. It should be a simple procedure for him to add an inexpensive shield to comply with local lighting laws. That is a violation of the law if he fails to comply. It has to do with by-laws and health issues of the aforementioned. -“Light Trespass”. If he is unwilling to comply about changing or shielding the light, then you must approach the local city or country authorities and at least voice a verbal complaint or ask for assistance; next if that fails, then consider filing a legal complaint. Hopefully it won't come to that as most intelligent and civil people will understand and no one wants to create enemies with their new neighbors. Conversely, no one should feel embarrassed to take care of this in a civil and/or a legal way. That is your right to do so.

Honestly, I see these problems all the time and here in CN as I did in my own neighborhood when my wife and I built our new home many years ago in the east suburbs of Portland Oregon. The local street lights were a problem. I simply called the local lighting authorities and explained that the lights shone into my homes windows, disturbing us from our restful sleep. The lighting engineers sent out a crew within a couple days and they shielded the lights with wrap=around metal shrouds, directing the light down to the street.

I am surprised that anyone would tell you that you have to live with it as a forced annoyance. That is just wrong.

Good luck,

Mark
www.markseibold.com
My CN Gallery