THE PETITION IS ON A CLIPBOARD NEAR THE FRONT DOOR. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP BY TO SIGN THE BACK OF THE LETTER.
January 25,2013
Mr. Chris Gilbert
Township Administrator
Springfield Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
8375 Winton Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
Subject: Nuisance Lighting generated from the Gracepoint Church
Dear Mr. Gilbert:
We the residents of the View Place neighborhood in Springfield Township who reside near the
Gracepoint Church wish to register the following complaint concerning the lighting generated by
the Gracepoint Church from its parking lot lights. The lights were installed approximately 3 years
ago, and the nuisance has increased as described below.
Specifically, the parking lot light poles are equipped with lights which have the strength normally
seen in stadium lights, much stronger than street lights. The light penetrates houses through
windows and even curtains, spills onto the lots, and blots out the sky. The nuisances include but are
not limited to reducing the enjoyment and value of property by the necessity of shutting blinds and
curtains when that action is not desired, annoyance of having one's yard lit up, forcing people to
look the other way when on the property or nearby streets, and having the sky blotted out. The light
spills onto adjacent properties that are a good distance from the building and across the street, and
onto properties at least two doors away from those adjacent properties on Deanview and Brucehills,
and as far away as the east side of View Place Drive.
Last winter, the residents reached an informal compromise with Gracepoint. Gracepoint agreed to
limit the lighting to between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm on nights when acdvities occurred, and the
residents agreed to tolerate the lights at their current strength. This compromise was largely adhered
to by Gracepoint until this winter.
Starting in late October or early November, the lights have been on 7 days per week, and from 6:00
pm to sunrise the next morning. In addition, the parking lot lights at the back of the church building
are also on, where they were not usually on in the past. The ones in the back increase the area of
influence of the lighting, which is already very significant.
We believe that the lights at their current strength cannot be tolerated, and should be reduced to a
brightness appropriate for a quiet, relatively low-density residential area. We believe that the
Township has a responsibility to protect our residential property. We suggest that the Township has
the authority to remedy the problem through its Zoning Resolution sections 5.08, 5.09, and 10.30.
Thank you for your help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Residents of Springfield Township
3 comments:
We love having this church in our neighborhood and think the congregation who meet are the nicest people on the planet. My only wish is to enjoy the night sky like i use to before they installed the new lights in 2008.
The perimeter lighting around the building was beautiful and subdued. I don't see why they have to have field lighting that obstructs our view of the roads and the sky. St. X had been very considerate about their safety lights.
I'm sure this will be resolved soon.
I want the congregation to know that I respect their need to feel safe and protected when they visit our neighborhood. Even after they leave, they should feel that their church is in good hands in our neighborhood. We cherish the congregation and the church. I hope this will be resolved for both the neighbors and the congregation.
I wonder if his congregation realizes how many times he has gone back on his word about the lights since he installed the new lamps. It was brought to his attention not soon after that the lights were flooding into the homes residing nearby. Five years later, the lights are still blasting into our homes without even a single apology from him.
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