Burlington man issued bylaw warning for Halloween decorations

A Burlington man is at a loss after being threatened by the City with a fine of up to $5,000 for Halloween decorations that the city has deemed to be a “nuisance.”

“I was just very surprised,” Brock McEwan said.

“I try to be respectful with it. I have a timer that sets these things to go off at 8:30 p.m., seven days a week. Given the fact that it gets dark at 6:30, we have a maximum of two hours that these things are lit in the night time.”

The City of Burlington described the decorations as a “nuisance,” and while there are no bylaws specific to Halloween decorations, some holiday displays are subject to what’s known as the “nuisance and noise control bylaw.”

Specifically, strong, moving, or twinkling lights that shine onto neighbouring properties and cause a disturbance are not permitted.

However, most of McEwan’s neighbours say they’re not troubled by the display.

“It’s not too bright, it’s not too crazy,” Delaney Moore-Wickham said.

“I’ve seen plenty of other Halloween decorations that are way more extravagant than this. But this one ghost seems to be a real point of contention.”

“It doesn’t bother me one bit,” says Scott Duncan.

“I’ve been here for 25 years… Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, I don’t care!”

One neighbour may have found the perfect way to go all out without stepping on anyone’s toes. Just a block away from the decor dispute is a haunted house, localized entirely within a garage.

Whether it’s ghosts in the garage or lights on the lawn, it seems the real scare on this Burlington street might just be the bylaw officers.

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