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Leamington charges greenhouse owners for contravening light abatement bylaw

Enforcement officers began patrols last November.

February 27, 2023  By Greenhouse Canada


LeamingtonLogo courtesy Municipality of Leamington.

The government of Leamington, Ont., has laid 88 charges against 12 local greenhouse owners for operating in contravention of a municipal light-abatement bylaw.

Leamington’s council passed Bylaw 41-22 last June. It requires owners of greenhouses using lights to install sidewall and endwall curtains and always keep them closed between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Those who had not already installed them on their greenhouses’ ceilings had to submit evidence they would be able to do so by Oct. 1, 2023, or declare they would shut their lights off and keep them off during the required hours. The deadline for these documents was Oct. 1, 2022, but the municipality reports only two owners submitted evidence for planned installations, while no owners declared they would keep their lights off.

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Bylaw enforcement officers began patrolling Leamington last November to gather evidence of greenhouse owners contravening the new rules. These investigations have led to the charges being laid under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act, reflecting numerous contraventions on many days. The matters will not be heard by the courts for a number of months; in the interim, investigations will continue and further proceedings are pending.

“It is unfortunate several greenhouse owners continue to be in violation of our bylaw, particularly those with whom the municipality settled previous proceedings,” says Hilda MacDonald, Leamington’s mayor. “We are hopeful that, in most cases, compliance will be achieved within a reasonable amount of time.”


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