noise bylaws

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

La Tulipe, Le Divan Orange, Diving Bell Social Club, and Champs Sports Bar are just a few Montreal venues that have had to close, either permanently or temporarily, due to noise complaints. Le Divan Orange, in fact, closed in 2017. That was the same year that Mayor Valérie Plante had made a campaign promise to table a policy on the issue.

Now the city of Montreal says its noise regulations are due for an upgrade.

The Projet Montréal administration did put out a nightlife policy at the beginning of this year, as reported in The Suburban. The goal was to fund the work necessary for venues with less than 3,000 spaces to comply with noise regulations.

But Ericka Alneus, a Plateau Mont Royal borough councillor, and Executive Committee member responsible for culture, says the city’s noise regulations, which date back to 1977, are old and in need of an update.

The venues mentioned all happen to be in the Plateau Mont Royal borough. At last week’s borough council meeting a draft bylaw was tabled specifically dealing with noise regulations and how they affect venues in the area, as well as people who live in the borough. The bylaw is actually based on a pilot project conducted in the city last year, along with consultations with sound engineers, various departments of the borough, and business and residents who would be impacted by proposed changes.

The borough would be using a measurement protocol, recognized internationally for some time, called “spectral emergence,” which measures the ambient and residual noise levels of a particular venue as compared with the normal sound levels of an urban environment. The comparison takes into account the noise levels during a venue’s operating hours – 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and non-operating hours – 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. It is a more accurate way to measure the actual impact of noise in a neighbourhood.

The regulations don’t only apply to show bars. They will also apply to other establishments, including reception rooms and dance halls, recreational gaming establishments, and community or socio-cultural activities. The rules prohibit noise of specific decibel levels in residential areas where it might affect bedrooms and other interior spaces, and even balconies and courtyards.

The borough is working with the SPVM on the best way to enforce compliance. But the police do indeed retain the power to intervene in the event of complaints of excessive noise. The city has said that it will provide funding “to support institutions in this transition” for things like soundproofing work. Non-compliance, however, could lead to the imposition of fines of up to $20,000.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: A municipal election is just months away. If you were the mayor, either of the city or of a borough, and had to make a decision that would please all concerned, would you: 1 – Extend venues’ operating hours, the hours during which they can present live music, to midnight? 2 – Cut their operating hours to 10:00 p.m.? 3 – Have the venues and nearby residential buildings install noise-cancelling insulation in the walls of clubs and adjacent buildings at their expense? 4 – Compensate both for installing noise cancelling insulation? 5 – mandate maximum decibel levels? n