Determined to silence a basketball-playing neighbour, an Ontario woman has asked the province’s environmental commissioner to investigate the sound of his repetitive dribbling.
Anne Langdon, a resident of Peterborough, Ont., wants to know whether the dull, rhythmic sound coming from the driveway next door constitutes “unreasonable and excessive noise.”
She says her 17-year-old neighbour’s basketball-playing takes place within two feet of her home, and the persistent thunk, thunk, thunk of his dribbling has been bothering her for three years.
And so, Langdon has gone public with her grievance.
In a statement issued to media, Langdon said city officials refused to address the noise. The inaction prompted her to file a complaint under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act.
As a writer who does the bulk of her work at home, Langdon argues that the heavy thud of the basketball bouncing off of the hoop’s backboard interferes with her job.
“It’s really affected the way I feel at home,” she said Wednesday in a phone interview. “You never know when the noise is going to start up.”
Though she is awaiting a response from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Langdon has suggested that her neighbour move his basketball practice to a public court.
Langdon has also asked the province to investigate the use of a wooden panel that her neighbours erected in front of her bedroom window after she complained to them.
Her next-door neighbours say the wooden panel was built on wheels, which allows it to be retracted whenever their teenage son is not playing basketball. The intent, they say, was to ease Langdon’s concerns about the possibility of an errant basketball breaking her window.
Langdon claims the wooden panel was left in front of her window, weighed down by a cinderblock, for several months last year. Her neighbours have denied this.
She also claims the panel blocks natural light from filtering into her home, and alleges it violates a section of the EPA that relates to the “loss of enjoyment of normal use of property.”
Now, it appears, Langdon’s grievance comes with a price tag.
Shortly after her noise complaint made headlines, Langdon’s next-door neighbours said that they received a letter demanding $25,000 in damages for the dribbling noise.
Neighbour Anne Elliott told CTVNews.ca that the letter, which was received on Oct. 26, demanded payment within 10 days. After the deadline, the letter warned legal action was possible.
Elliott said her family has no intention of compensating Langdon, and indicated as such in a letter their lawyer delivered to their neighbour’s lawyer on Tuesday.
“We will not even consider meeting these ridiculous demands,” Elliott said Wednesday in a phone interview. “If she pursues legal action, then we will certainly take a stand and fight back.”
The dispute, which pits a boy’s right to play outside against a woman’s right to quiet within her home, has resurrected debate about what constitutes disruptive behaviour. It’s also inspired discussion about whether Langdon was right to call upon the environmental commissioner.
At last count, a neighbourhood petition voicing concern about Langdon’s decision to get the environmental commissioner involved had 500 signatures, Elliott said. The concern is whether the request will set a precedent, inspiring others to call upon the province for similar disputes.
Meanwhile, Elliott says the dispute has tormented her “very quiet, private” family.
“It’s been the worst three years of our lives living in our own home,” she said, her voice shaking.
Elliott said the attention and stress have had her two adult daughters in tears, while her basketball-playing son is trying to stay focused both in school and on the court.
“He just wants to play ball,” she said.
