MOPC staff looks to see what other municipalities do about noise complaints

MOPC Council wants to know what other municipalities are doing regarding noise complaints.

Warden Robert Parker said he has been receiving noise complaints in his district and the municipality currently doesn’t have a noise or nuisance bylaw that can address the issue.

He said there have been complaints of trucks coming or going from a business throughout the night in a residential area and when the trucks back up, they make a beeping sound for safety reasons. He has also received complaints about a young person living in a travel trailer who runs a generator all night in an area that has homes nearby.

Warden Parker said both instances are causing people to lose sleep but there is little he can tell complainants because the MOPC doesn’t have a noise or nuisance bylaw that would set laws about noise levels.

“We don’t have a lot of tools in this municipality,” he said, adding that councils in the past never wanted to put someone out of business over a noise issue. “It was the choice between the economy and noise. You can’t say to someone don’t work after 10 p.m.”

Warden Parker asked MOPC staff to look at what is being done in other areas of the province regarding noise and nuisance bylaws and report back to council with its findings.

“This can happen in any district at any time, and we don’t have the tools to deal with it,” he said.