Light bulb feud sparks $80,000 in fines, fees
Carol Sowers
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 6, 2008 08:10 AM
Sandra Shelton, a spirited 67-year-old widow of Scottsdale, has wrangled with her homeowners' association for more than two years over what she calls her "$80,000 light bulb."
Shelton smiles when she says it.
But she's not laughing.
She faces more than $30,000 in unpaid fines, and another $50,000 in legal costs, after she was sued for a bright light that shines in her backyard.
The feud started in November 2005 when Shelton - afraid for her daughter's life - added a third security light to the back of her home in the swank Scottsdale Mountain neighborhood, overlooking the Mayo Clinic near 136th Street and Shea Boulevard.
It's an isolated community at the south end of the McDowell Mountains where the desert night is relatively undisturbed by the Valley's city lights.
Joe and Elayne Reichbach said their bedroom once was comfortably dark despite a wall-sized window.
"We had no idea the (first two) lights were there (until) 2005," Reichbach said. "Now, they are on all the time."
Neighbors say light is blinding. The Reichbach's live 100 yards across an arroyo from Shelton's home.
But even at that distance, they say the lights from Shelton's security system are intolerable.
"I've had to move to another bedroom in the house," Elayne Reichbach said.
The Reichbach's complained to the Scottsdale Mountain Community Association, which oversees the rules in their exclusive north Scottsdale community.
The association agrees with the Reichbach's. Members call Shelton's system "a nuisance."
But Shelton calls it a "matter-of-life and death."
She says the lights and cameras are vital to protecting her 45-year-old daughter from a stalker.
The association ordered Shelton to shut off the lights. She refused.
With no settlement in sight, the association in April 2006 began fining Shelton $50 a day.
So far, the fines have grown to more than $30,000 - and the lights are still on.
Shelton says she has replaced the system twice, angling the lights downward and encasing them to shield the light.
"I have done everything possible to appease the (association) board," she said.
Impatient with the pace of the feud, the association sued Shelton in 2006 for refusing to pay her fines.
Foreclosure is association goal. The suit asks Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Houser to slap a lien on Shelton's house. The association intends to foreclose on it.
During a day-long trial in January, Rodney Knight, the association's lawyer, told Houser the battle has lingered too long.
"The lights are still on," Knight said.
Ivy Kushner, Shelton's lawyer, told Houser there are no association rules on exterior lights.
Knight shot back: The rules "didn't exclude lighting."
On the witness stand, Shelton told Knight, "You have been hounding, and hounding me."
Knight asked her why she hadn't turned off the lights.
"Because I was afraid my daughter would be murdered," Shelton said.
Still, Shelton admitted on the stand that she had agreed that her lights "were bright." She had been to the Reichbach's home last year during a meeting with association officials.
After that meeting, Shelton had the lights re-positioned. She offered to buy the Reichbach's drapes and blinds for their bedroom window.
Desire for spectacular sunrises
The Reichbach's refused, saying they wanted to wake up to the sunrise and spectacular mountain views through their huge bedroom window.
"The beauty of living in Scottsdale Mountain is watching the sun come up," Joe Reichbach said.
Two electricians, who re-configured Shelton's security system, testified that the Reichbach's would notice the lights. But because they are angled downward, they should not shine directly into the bedroom from 100 yards across an arroyo.
Joe Reichbach disagrees. He said the modifications didn't help: "We can't sleep."
Judge Houser has yet to rule in the case. But he gave the parties this warning: "This is going to cost someone a lot of money. I urge you to settle."
Wow. The fine is currently at $80k and it will continue to grow if both parties doesn't settle. 
This is best weird out that make me laughing roll on the floor. But I feel