Halifax's construction noise bylaw 'out of sync' with other cities, says councillor
Halifax councillors plan to take a closer look at construction noise in residential neighbourhoods.
The city's current noise bylaw was last updated in 1999. It states that construction on weekdays is permitted between 7 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., on Saturdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. and on Sundays and holidays between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
A south-end residents advocacy group has been pushing to get those hours reduced.
"All they have to do is come and live in one of these places, a residential neighbourhood that has a mainstream development going on, and if you have to listen to a piledriver 12 hours a day, seven days a week, it can get pretty tedious," said Chris Annand, the vice-chair of Park to Park Community Association.
What do other cities do?
Park to Park asked the community planning and economic development standing committee to review the bylaw and bring it more in line with bylaws in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
Toronto permits construction between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, while Vancouver permits it between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Construction noise is not permitted in either city on Sundays and holidays.
The committee agreed to ask for a staff report outlining options for changes to the noise bylaw.
"It is very far out of sync with what other major cities are doing," said committee chair Waye Mason.
He said the type of construction in the city has changed since the bylaw was updated 18 years ago.
"When all your construction's happening in the suburbs where you're hundreds of yards away from everybody else who might complain, you don't need to have these rules. But now it's Wellington Street, right up against the property line where 200 people live in a condo and we're applying the same rules. So, [we] need to update that," he said.
The request comes at the same time city staff are working on revisions to the noise bylaw.
