Cabbagetowners will recall that we’ve posted in the past about proposed changes to the City’s Noise Bylaw (Chapter 591).
There was a meeting on May 19, 2016 of the Licensing and Standards Committee to discuss an amended version of the bylaw, but the “Licensing and Standards Committee deferred the item until September 21, 2016 with the request that the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards establish a working group with representatives from the Toronto Noise Coalition, Residents’ Associations, construction and entertainment business associations, BIAs, and other relevant stakeholders, and report back on September 21, 2016”.
This was a good decision in our view. The revisions to the original proposed changes, did not adequately take into account the views of many residents and resident groups. The Cabbagetown Residents Association Board has partnered with the Toronto Noise Coalition to ensure that our views are (ahem…) heard, and we’ve also been in touch with Councillor McConnell’s office.
Stay tuned…
2 replies on “Proposed Toronto Noise Bylaw Changes Update”
What are the current noise laws and what are the proposed changes?
Hi Doug. Firstly, sorry for the delay in responding. I was out of town for a few days and my *mobile tech* allowed me to see your post, but not respond!
This document contains the current laws, as well as all of the proposed changes (toronto.ca). It’s a bit “lengthy” though, so this earlier post highlights the issues as we see them. The updated material is at: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/ls/bgrd/backgroundfile-92915.pdf
In a nutshell, the problematic issues that have been identified by resident groups are that the proposed changes include: a significant increase in allowable noise levels, a longer duration of time when excessive noise is permitted and the proposed changes also remove a number of safeguards designed to prevent abuse. Some areas of the city such as on the Islands and Portlands area face unique issues due to outdoor concerts and Billy Bishop Airport other areas have large scale construction projects either within or near their boundaries which would be affected by changes in these bylaws. I hope that helps!