Noise bylaw rules for construction start times OK as is, staff say

Waking up on a Saturday morning to the sound of construction may be a common reality,as work continues on Ottawa'slight rail lineand other projects but city staff feel there'sno need to push back the timethat work gets underway.

The city hasbeen reviewing Ottawa's noisebylaw, lookingat a range of issues everything from construction and snow removal to car alarms and wind chimes.

And in a report to be tabled next week to the community and protective services committee, they recommend what amount to only a few tweaks of the current rules.

Later start times could pose problems

Currently, the bylaw allows for general construction to occur between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily, from Monday to Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays and statutory holidays.

For infill, demolition, and construction on small residential lots, the evening curfew is 8 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Staff said while nearly one-thirdof people who participated in an online survey wanted to see later start times on Saturday morning, pushing that start time back wouldleadto other problems like workers exposed to higher temperatures, and constructionhappening when more people are on the roads.

Staff are recommending, however, a reduction in the maximum noise threshold for construction exemptions.

Other changes proposed by staff include:

• Exempting all municipal waste collection, regardless of where it takes place, from the noise bylaw.
• Enabling the city to charge companies, and not just employees, for waste collection and deliveries that happen after 11 p.m. but before 7 a.m.
• Reducing the time a car alarm can go off from 20 minutes down to five minutes.

Staff recommended no changes to special event noise exemption regulations, the general exemption for snow clearing and removal or rules around motorcycle noise, and no new provisions to address wind chimes.