The lights on Colin Way’s property in Outer Battery are out, at least for now. (Mark Quinn/CBC)
After months of public pressure, the extremely bright — and extremely controversial — lights erected in the Outer Battery neighborhood of St. John’s, were removed.
Property owner Colin Way is facing months of public scrutiny, reaching all the way to the provincial government, after he installed high-powered floodlights around his property and left them running 24 hours a day.
Resident Christina Smith said Friday the lights went out around 9 p.m. Thursday night.
“We don’t know why. We have no idea. They just disappeared,” she said.
“It’s been hard for the last nine months to live under the glow of those lights. I know this will be a huge relief for the whole community.”
Neighbors asked the city of St. Johns for help, saying the lights were disrupting their lives and mental health.
But the city balked, saying it couldn’t do anything about it under current city law. The provincial government said it would allow an amendment to the City of St. John’s Act to allow council to pass a nuisance lighting bylaw, but Mayor Danny Breen said the bylaw needs a comprehensive overhaul, not a single amendment.
Despite a rally outside City Hall by residents and Battery supporters, city council voted almost unanimously against a proposal to ask the provincial government to amend the law — and Way installed more lights.
Several bright lights raised by Wei illuminated the houses directly across from them at all times. Residents have been complaining for months. (Dan Arsenault/CBC)
Last week, a man took matters into his own hands by trying, but failing, to change the position of the lights. Last week, police confirmed that 32-year-old James Drover had been arrested and charged with trespassing and criminal damage. He was released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.
On Friday, Way’s attorney, Bob Buckingham, said he expected the lights to remain off through the weekend and that either he or Way would have something to say next week.
But the lights are just part of a bigger problem, according to residents, some of whom have described their problems on social media.
One resident posted a photo of a ServiceMaster van, allegedly owned by Way, parked up against another resident’s vehicle.
An Outer Battery resident posted this photo of a van allegedly owned by Way that was parked close to their car. (External Battery, St. John, Newfoundland, Canada/Facebook)
The poster called the parking enforcement a “scare” tactic by Way.
Smith also posted images of the van, saying it had been parked in a public car park for around 300 days.
On Thursday, ServiceMaster posted on Facebook that it had been brought to their attention that a ServiceMaster Restore franchise owner in western Newfoundland had abandoned a company vehicle parked on public property.
The company said each franchise is independently owned and operated, but the company is “taking appropriate corrective measures.”
As of Friday afternoon, the van was still parked in the outer battery but had been moved to another parking spot.
A spokesperson for the city of St. John told CBC News that the city was not involved in the blackout.
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