Oakville’s new noise bylaw is being tweaked to make it easier to keep the town quiet.
But some town councillors are worried that it could be too effective, quelling not just noisy nighttime neighbours, but also the bars, restaurants and evening events that help animate Oakville’s business areas.
As a result, town staff will spend the coming months talking to businesses, in advance of a planned November 2024 introduction of the new rules.
Proposed new rules restrict most audible noise that can be heard beyond property lines between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. That includes the playing of music, either amplified or unamplified.
Councillor Sean O’Meara, who represents the Bronte area, said the rules threaten to stifle vibrancy in developing mixed-use areas where commercial and residential uses are in close proximity.
Patios and bars could be silenced by a complaint from one nearby household that can hear noise after 7 p.m.
"We’re trying to attract people to these areas -- not rolling up our carpets at 5 o’clock and going to bed," he said, during town council’s Monday, May 27 meeting.
His concerns were echoed by several other councillors, including Janet Haslett-Theall, who sits on the board of the Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA).
The Downtown BIA ran 220 events last year, she said, with many of them running later than 7 p.m.
"The enjoyment (of these) and benefit to the businesses is real,” she said. “This is on-the-ground reality of what people experience."
Like everyone else in town, the BIA could apply for noise exemption permits to allow its activities to run beyond 7 p.m.
But Haslett-Theall questioned the impact of demanding that much paperwork of the organization.
Craig Williams, who works for the town’s municipal enforcement services, said the bylaw aims to create balance.
"We’re trying to balance the needs of a vibrant community with the needs of everyone to enjoy the peace, quiet and repose of their property," he told councillors.
Lawn equipment is exempted from the 7 p.m. deadline, with homeowners able to cut grass or use leaf blowers or other yard equipment until 9 p.m.
Noisy cars and construction challenges
Attempts to manage construction noise – including through the use of increased fines – did earn the praise of councillors.
Ward 5 councillor Jeff Knoll said he was happy to see fines increase with each violation, to discourage developers from ignoring the rules and paying the fines as part of the cost of doing business.
The penalties will climb from $300 to $1,000 for a third offence but repeat violators could be taken to court with possible fines of up to $25,000, said Williams.
Ward 7 councillor Nav Nanda is hopeful that the new rules will stop early-morning truck queuing at construction sites.
While work can’t begin until 7 a.m., Nanda said she’s heard complaints from residents who are woken by loud trucks arriving on the site several hours earlier and keeping their engines running in cold weather.
The bylaw will prohibit the operation of construction equipment on a site prior to 7 a.m.
But the noise from cars – including those with exhaust systems modified to emit a loud roar – can’t be addressed under the bylaw, explains the report from Williams.
Although a big source of local complaints, automobile noise is outside of the town’s jurisdiction.
Council has renewed its call for the province to crack down on noisy cars, passing a formal motion asking for enforcement tools, police funding and a ban on modified exhaust systems designed to make cars louder.
Also outside of town control is noise resulting from deliveries to stores, restaurants or warehouses.
Read more here: What happens when a warehouse moves in beside you?
Until 2020, Oakville’s bylaw banned the "loading, unloading, delivering, packing, unpacking, or otherwise handling any equipment, containers, products, materials, or refuse" during overnight hours, as well as on Sundays and statutory holidays.
But during the pandemic, the Ontario government approved emergency rules to allow 24-hour deliveries to retail stores, hotels, restaurants or goods distribution facilities.
In 2021, the province made those rules permanent and removed the power of municipalities to manage delivery noise.