Council Takes On Noise Issues

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Monday, 28 October 2013 18:19
Vernon council continues to work on ways to put a lid on overnight noise concerns in the downtown. The Journey Inn and other property owners around 28th Avenue want something done about loud sound levels coming from nightclubs and other businesses between 11 pm and 7 am. Mayor Rob Sawatzky says city staff will prepare a report on the pros and cons of moving to a new system of measuring noise, such as setting a decibel limit. He says they'll also look at what other cities do. "They will look at what standards are in other similiar communities, and then council will have to have a discussion on how we want to deal with these issues," says Sawatzky. Councillor Juliette Cunningham says setting a decibel limit is one option, but she doesn't want any new rules to be too rigid. "I'd like to see a blend of the quantitative and qualitative (regulations), so there could some discretion for a specific event, and to be able to have some flexibility around enforcement," she says. Councillor Brian Quiring says they will look at setting an upper limit. "That seems to be the only way that we can kind of accurately determine if something is too loud. There are some industry standards out there for what is acceptable, and we have a decibel meter, so I think that's a good direction," says Quiring. Quiring says the sound of overnight snowplows in downtown parking lots is another issue he would like action on, saying the beeping noise is annoying and wakes up residents including his family in East Hill.