Neighbor’s Flood Light Issue
Greetings RA readers. Since its the summer and I am putting in a lot of time, effort, and money for my landscape, I have been plagued with one big issue. My neighbor behind me has a flood light that shines like a spotlight into my backyard. Even worse, it shines into my house into my spare bedroom and in direct line with where I lay my head in my nearby bedroom. I have blackout curtains in the spare bedroom but they don’t cancel out all of the light. The biggest issue is going outside at night with my dog Rebel and being blinded by the light so much so that I can’t locate Rebel in my own yard. I also feel like I can’t enjoy my hard work within the landscape at night, including use of the tabletop propane fire kit I bought.
I attempted to ask the city of Green Bay if they could do anything related to light trespass and they did not resolve the issue. With COVID, they were hesitant but I received several email responses and also sent pictures of the light to them. One day I received an email that the complaint was closed. I guess the utility of the light is to light up the parking area behind the neighbor’s house.
Now you may be wondering why I haven’t gone to the neighbors and asked them about the light. Before COVID hit, the home was for sale as a two unit duplex. With COVID and not selling, they took the home off the market and rented it out. So the people that live there are renters and not the actual owners who put the light up.
The intensity of the light disrupts my ability to enjoy my yard at night. One thing I have been doing is planting some Forsythia in the back by the fence as well as a Bloodgood Japanese maple. I am hoping that eventually these elements will work to block the light. A creative solution that I thought about was using the light to highlight the back of my house. So I plan on adding a mural and putting up a vertical wall plant system. Then I could just face the house and admire that portion of the yard at night.
Let me know your thoughts. Should I try to talk to someone or should I continue with my creative alternatives?