'I feel like they just don't care': Vancouver resident frustrated by bright lights shining into his home
A Vancouver resident has been dealing with light disturbance from lights shining into his home from a nearby parking lot, despite having reported it to the City nearly two years ago.
Lee Cossette lives on the seventh floor of a residence on West Pender Street at the gate of Chinatown. His home faces a building with an attached parking lot, which has three bright LED lights on it, to light the lot.
Cossette said they don’t have blinds on them, so instead of lighting up only the parking lot, they shine into his home.
“They light up the whole side of my building. So, it makes it really bright at nighttime,” he told Daily Hive.
He’s since purchased blackout curtains and said that other residents put cardboard up over their windows at night to block out the light.
Before the LED lights were installed, Cossette used to enjoy sitting and enjoying the view of the city at night, looking all the way across to Metrotown.
“But with those bright lights shining in your face, you can’t enjoy the view of the city at night,” he said.
Cossette first reported the light disturbance to the City back in May 2024, through the Van311 app.
In his report, he wrote that the lights “were upgraded to LED lighting for the parking lot across from my building. They’re very bright, lighting up my whole building at night. They need to have a blind installed so that they only light up the parking lot.”
He said his case was assigned to an inspector, but nothing happened. He also went to City Hall last year to further enquire but has yet to see any changes.
Cossette said he’s “very frustrated” that there hasn’t been a solution to the issue, nearly two years after he first complained.
He pointed out that there is a bylaw that directly addresses light pollution.
“I feel like they just don’t care,” he said.
However, in an emailed response to questions from Daily Hive, the City of Vancouver said that they are aware of this light disturbance, and that they are “currently working with the property to bring the site into compliance with the City’s outdoor lighting regulations as outlined in the Untidy Premises By-law.”
The untidy premises bylaw includes provisions related to outdoor lighting, stating that owners or occupiers of a residence are required to make sure that “an outdoor light fixture is placed in a way that does not cast light directly onto a window or other opening of a residence located across the street from, or adjacent to, the property.”
The bylaw further states that an outdoor light fixture shouldn’t unreasonably disturb “the peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of the owner or occupier of the neighbouring real property.”
Vancouver also has the Vancouver building bylaw, which has requirements in it to reduce light pollution for new builds and permitted renovations. The City noted that this bylaw doesn’t apply to older buildings, like the property on West Pender.
The City said it “takes reports of potential bylaw infractions seriously.” Once they receive a report, the City opens a case file, reviews the information, and might investigate if they think there’s a violation.
“If a violation is confirmed, the City typically works with the property owner or occupier to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and restore compliance.”
The City said that if someone is dealing with light pollution or light‑related disturbances from a nearby property, they can contact Van311.
Property management responds
Anthem Properties, the property management company responsible for the parking lot, told Daily Hive in an email that they were first informed of the issue in May 2025 — one year after Cossette first complained to the City.
Chris Wood, the director of property management, said that they “immediately adjusted the lighting to point strictly downwards.”
“We reacted immediately as we of course, have empathy for the situation the resident is dealing with as we would for any neighbour, tenant or member of the public.”
Wood added that they thought this had resolved the issue, and hadn’t been contacted until February of this year.
After the publication of this article on March 24, Daily Hive learned that Anthem Properties installed new light fixtures on March 25 with blinds to “direct the light downwards to the parking lot and away from the windows in question.”
Wood said that the delay in installing the replacement fixtures was due to “timing for the receipt of the appropriately designed light fixtures.”