By Doug Hallett
dhallett@guelphtribune.ca

Set fines for many violations of the city’s noise bylaw could jump to $300 from the current $130 under proposed noise bylaw changes that go to council Monday.
The changes, endorsed this week by council’s operations and transit committee, include major amendments related to noise from yelling and air conditioners, as well as noise in the downtown.
Staff decided to recommend the higher set fines after comparing Guelph’s noise fines with those in nearby municipalities, which average $274, said Doug Godfrey, the city’s manager of bylaw compliance and security.
Staff also compared the city’s current noise fine with its fines for other violations of city bylaws, such as the $300 set fine for urinating in a public place, he said.It’s being recommended that the set fine rise to $150 for “general noise violations,” such as a barking dog, Godfrey said in an interview. He said these violations involve “noise that is a concern, but not so disruptive” as some other kinds.
The proposed $300 set fine would apply to “violations that have proven more contentious, including activities involving music, yelling, fireworks and improper mufflers,” a city staff report says.
While city council can endorse proposals to raise set fines, actual approval of changes to set fines has to come from the regional senior justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, the report notes.
If approved, such fines become the amount payable when an enforcement officer issues a ticket for an offence. For repeat offenders, or where circumstances warrant, both city bylaw enforcement staff and police officers have the option of summonsing a person to court for an offence, which can result in a higher fine.
Before making their recommendations for changes, the city sought public feedback on the effectiveness of the current noise bylaw. Sixty-two comments were received from the public, and they led to staff proposals for changes in three areas, the report says.
One relates to noise from air conditioners. The current noise bylaw deals only with noise from improperly working air conditioners. But this wording has caused difficulty for bylaw enforcement staff, because they don’t have the expertise to determine if an air conditioner is in proper working order, the report says.
Council will be asked to amend the noise bylaw to regulate noise from air conditioners “based on a maximum allowable decibel level,” it says.
The second area of proposed change relates to yelling, which the city’s current noise bylaw controls only between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays. City staff often gets complaints about “unnecessary yelling” outside of these hours, but they are unable to do anything, the report says.
Council will be asked to amend the bylaw to prohibit unnecessary yelling 24 hours a day.
“The amendment will require the enforcing officer to be subjective in the determination of whether an offence has occurred,” the report says. “Specifically, the officer will need to determine if the yelling was unnecessary based on the activity occurring.
“For example, yelling during a sporting activity may be appropriate, whereas a person berating another would not.”
The third area of change relates to the downtown area, which is currently put in the same category as industrial parks and university lands when it comes to noise.
This, the report says, “has often caused dissatisfaction to residents within the downtown, as they are not afforded the same protection against noise as other residential neighbourhoods. Noise generated in the downtown is often not enforceable until after 11 p.m.
“Recognizing the mixed land use of the downtown,” it says, staff proposed creating a special category for the downtown in the noise bylaw. It would allow noise from music and other events that are either approved by the city or put on by the Downtown Guelph Business Association in the activity court in St. George’s Square.
This change, which is supported by both the business association and the Downtown Neighbourhood Group, would permit such events, but also allow bylaw officers and police to “address unwanted noise occurring within the downtown,” the report says.