The Town of Sutton has launched an action plan to address light pollution.

In 2013, town council adopted by-law 233 entitled “By-law concerning exterior lighting” that outlined different measures that residents were expected to follow. The by-law was implemented following various complaints submitted to the town. 

Almost ten years after being implemented, Mayor Robert Benoît said that the by-law has not been well enforced over the years. As a result, the town is currently informing citizens about the measures they are expected to follow and what will happen if they do not comply. The town will then move on to the second phase of its action plan by sending out letters to landowners that do not comply. 

“The by-law was never really implemented, there was never any follow-up for the complaints. The town received a lot of complaints about light pollution, I think there was about 20-25 at least. So when we came in in November of last year, we decided to do follow-ups on the existing regulations,” explained Benoît. 

Benoît added that the town previously did not have the financial means to hire an environmental inspector to ensure that the by-law was enforced and followed, but part of the budget for this year was reserved specifically for that.

“He’s was hired within the last two to three months and he’s doing nighttime surveys of the complaints we already have, complaints of many years as a matter of fact, to see if there is compliance to the by-law,” said Benoît. 

Benoît noted that many of those who had complaints against them were not compliant. 

“What we are doing right now is taking a gradual approach with that. We’re not trying to do penalties at first. On the contrary, we are trying to inform them of the existing by-law and what to do if they are not compliant,” he said. 

After the town completes its first phase of informing the public and meeting the landowners that have complaints against them, it will move on to the second phase of sending a letter of notice if there is a lack of compliance. 

“We send a letter and we give three weeks to the owner to be compliant. If they are not compliant after those three weeks, the third step is to give penalties and the penalties in the existing by-law are pretty steep. They vary from $300 to $2,000 depending on if you’re an individual owner or a corporation. With a second offence, the range is double,” explained Benoît. 

Measures in the by-law include having light fixtures pointed towards the ground and not towards the sky, avoid creating a nuisance for neighbours with lights pointed away from their property, and having a structure that will limit light pollution if necessary and depending on what light bulb is being used. 

There may be certain exemptions when it concerns events. 

“It’s also a question of judgement. (…) In certain instances, like a concert or a wedding, in most of the cases where people are requesting a special permit for an event like that, there are conditions fixed by the town. There was a big party lately, and I know that this was discussed with the owners that they have to accept certain conditions about lighting or whatever activities they have that causes light pollution,” mentioned Benoît. 

Benoît explained that the town council wants to ensure that the by-law, amongst others, that were set in place by previous councils are being strictly followed.

“This administration wants to have a culture where if we have regulations, we make sure to implement it. Otherwise, people think even though you have a by-law, and you don’t respect it or control it, they are willing to take the law into their hands,” he said. “(…) To have clear skies, and to be able to enjoy them, is important to the quality if life in Sutton.”

Listen to the full interview below: