By Michelle Normandeau
City officials hope to introduce a unified noise bylaw for the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa in an attempt to decrease the volume of noise complaints.
With noise pollution ranging from barking dogs to drunk and rowdy bar patrons, the people of Ottawa are expected to file 15,000 noise complaints this year.
At the moment, there are a number of noise bylaws in effect, because each municipality brought their bylaws with them when the new city was created.
Susan Jones, director of bylaw services for the city of Ottawa, says one of the goals of the new bylaw will be to reduce the number of repeat calls by dealing with the problem effectively the first time around.
While the harmonization of noise bylaws has become a priority, the creation of one bylaw is not expected to be an easy task, because urban and rural communities have different concerns.
“If you had a rooster in the middle of a downtown area, that’s a problem, but a rooster crowing out in a rural area is not a problem,” says Jones. “One size does not fit all. We may have to have different regulations to address the different areas.”
Another task of the new bylaw expected to spark debate will be trying to meet the needs of both businesses and residents.
Somerset Councillor Elisabeth Arnold says that while not all businesses cause problems, there are certain areas, such as the Elgin Street strip, that receive a large number of complaints.
“We want to make sure that [the new bylaw] is protective of people’s right to the quiet enjoyment of their communities and homes, but also respects the needs of bars and businesses that we want to support,” says Arnold.
But how this balance is achieved is still somewhat unclear.
Gerry Lepage, from Bank Street Promenade an association that represents bars and businesses on Bank Street, also recognizes the need to find balance, but admits that it will be difficult.
“There is always a concern in trying to strike a balance as to what one can reasonably expect when you live in a urban core,” says Lepage.
“Hopefully this kind of logic will be utilized when looking at Centretown or the downtown core, where there are many entertainment facilities and, as a consequence, one can expect that there is going to be a certain amount of noise.”
Public consultation for the new noise bylaw is expected to begin early next year.
Jones hopes that by getting feedback from different interest groups, the new bylaw will be able to reflect the unique characteristics and individuality of each of Ottawa’s many communities.
It is hoped that the new bylaw will be in effect by the end of 2002.