"Friendly Neighbour" Bylaw Changes In The Works
Photo By Roxanne Ashe - Virtual Interiors Photography
A recent high profile noise spat between two neighbours on High Street West has the City tweaking their noise bylaw which could end up affecting the entire city.
Called a “Good Neighbour” measure by the Mayor, Council voted to work on changes to the existing Noise Bylaw to help ensure reasonable peace and quiet for people in their homes as well as set parameters for businesses and others to abide by.
Speaking before Council Diretor of Planning Michelle Sanson laid out the report Administration had prepared in response to a Council request just two weeks prior.
Sanson said Administration had looked at reevaluating “business licenses where noise could be a problem” but had come to the conclusion that changing the licensing policy was “not in the best interest.”
Instead of going the business licensing route she said Administration thought chnages to the existing noise bylaw would rectify the problem which not only existed on High Street but elsewhere where there was a mixed commercial and residential zoning.
In the report to Council Administration had looked into the National Building Code, 2015 and discovered the necessity to provide soundproofing was only required to protect residential occupancies in the same building. Due to the fact the concerns raised on High Street deal with two separate buildings there is no requirement to provide soundproofing under the National Building Code, the report stated.
Encouraging residential occupancies in the Downtown is part of the Official Communtiy Plan she said, adding “large cities do assign decibel level limits.”
As part of the Official Community Plan there is also an emphasis to encourage businesses in the Downtown core and changing the licensing requirements to rectify the glitch in existing bylaws would act as a detterent to limit the types of businesses.
On High Street the issue involves a fitness studio - Dance Fitness With Kyra - and concerns raised by residential neighbours in an adjacent building.
Admiistration was recommending a hybrid change to the existing noise bylaw which would amalgamate the use of decibels from Vancouver along with the wording from Regina’s noise bylaw, Sanson told Council.
Changes to the noise bylaw would also incorporate a public consultation between the police and other parties, she said.
Councillor Crystal Froese asked about how the new decibel level system proposed would be different from the present system where if someone violated the current bylaw it ended up in court. She was told it could potentially end up in court.
Speaking anectdotally Councillor Scott McMann said residential areas can also experience similar noise problems as what had occured in the High Street issue.
“Why not just make it city wide?” Councillor McMann asked.
Sanson replied looking at incorporating a decibel level limit across the entire city was “not off base.”
“This is a quick overview we could propose as a solution…it could apply across the city.”
Councillor Dawn Luhning, who had brought the noise concerns from the residential tenants to Council, asked about the timeline for consultation between the police and other parties to which Sanson replied it could be done “as quickly as possible” with the “end of April back here again with the proposal.”
Mayor Fraser Tolmie spoke about the recent good worldwide publicity the City had received in the Moose Truce with Norway and how that “tongue and cheek” dispute showed the true character of Moose Jaw.
He would go on to state he was “very disappointed” in many of the comments brought forward in the community regarding the High Street neighbour noise dispute.
Mayor Tolmie would go on to quote the seven main duties and responsibilities of council members under the Cities Act and how in carrying out those duties criticism could occur.
“Either way you are going to be criticized and this issue has become very personal and void of facts,” he said.
“Recent issues has exposed gaps in our bylaws. Most of the buildings in the Downtown were designed to have a storefront and residences above it…noise bylaws protect the peace and quiet of people’s homes…(we are) trying to find a balance here and supporting our decisions based on facts,” Mayor Tolmie said.
“(There is) no doubt this whole situation has been villified in the court of public opinion,” Councillor Crystal Froese said, adding they were “establishing more details around this issue to help people become better neighbours around each other…our job is to strengthen bylaws and help neighbours get along.”
City manager Jim Puffalt said if the use of appropriate soundproofing prevented noise from escaping a facility the noise bylaw changes would not apply in your own building and “you can have it as loud as you want.”
He spoke about not just decibels but also the duration of the sound as important.
“When you do that for eight hours that is when it becomes an issue.”
“We need a way to prevent this from occuring again…the noise bylaw was fairly vague in what was considered a nuisance,” Puffalt stated in supporting changes to the Noise Bylaw, adding later “we need to find a balance.”
“(It gives) some type of guidance for everybody. The way it sits now you have got to go to court to prove something,” Puffalt said, adding there was a need to “try to find some reasonable level so people can co-exist with everybody.”
Councillor Brian Swanson said any changes to the bylaw would not be retroactive.
Mayor Tolmie stated “the information brought forward is not an individual case but the challenges…we are going through a cultural change. How do we fix that so there is not going to be problems in the future?”
Councillor Chris Warren stated “this is not a new issue…municipalities across the country have bylaws to deal with these types of issues.”
He used an analogy of an outdoor central vaccum cleaner running one foot away from a neighbour and how that would disturb your neighbour to justify the need for an addition to the bylaw.
“We are trying to bring commercial and residential into our Downtown for a more vibrant Downtown,” Councillor Warren stated, adding Council was “insuring future development there is soundproofing installed.”
In the end Council approved Administration to work towards changes to the Noise Bylaw which will include some type of consultation.