New Plateau noise bylaw meets ‘most of our requests,’ music venues say
While Quai des Brumes has been spared from noise complaints that have forced other music venues to close, general manager Jules Gauliard-Martineau always knew he could be just one new neighbour away from that changing.
But with a new noise bylaw introduced by the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough Thursday — a first of its kind in Montreal — Gauliard-Martineau said he feels the borough might have finally solved the issue.
“I think we were listened to, and they met most of our requests,” Gauliard-Martineau said from his office inside the St-Denis St. venue. “What remains to be seen now is how it will be implemented . That’s what we’re all eager to know.”
The bylaw is the result of an extensive public consultation process and is the first major overhaul of the rules governing noise complaints in the borough since 1977.
It differs in two major ways from changes the borough had proposed last year: police officers will no longer handle complaints concerning music venues, and initial fines will be greatly reduced.
Noise complaints have led to fines and closings for several bars and venues across Montreal in recent years and sparked heated debates over how the city can best protect its venues and those living nearby.
The issue was particularly prominent in the Plateau, where 51 venues coexist in the densely populated neighbourhood. Most notably, the century-old La Tulipe concert hall was forced to close after a noise complaint from a new neighbour in 2016 led to lawsuits and court proceedings.
Under the new bylaw set to be adopted in May, municipal employees will now be in charge of handling all noise complaints related to venues, rather than police officers.
Residents will be able to place complaints through 311 or an online form. A team will also be in place to handle nighttime complaints from Thursday to Saturday.
Borough Mayor Cathy Wong said Thursday the goal will not be to fine the venues following complaints, but to instead work with them to find solutions and avoid future issues.
Fines for a first offence are currently set at $1,500. Although last year’s draft bylaw suggested increasing them to $10,000 — an amount venues said would be disastrous — they will now be set at $600 and only issued if other options fail.
“We want to avoid putting music venues in an even more precarious financial position,” Wong said. “The message today is that we want to accompany them, not sanction them.”
Jon Weisz, the director of SMAQ, which represents music venues across Quebec, said the bylaw responds to most of the concerns venues had raised — particularly about the police’s involvement in the process.
Under the previous bylaw, Weisz said, “residents could essentially weaponize the police against a concert venue they wanted to see disappear.”
“Hopefully, we’ve gotten rid of that dynamic now,” Weisz said. “And the city’s first response won’t be to give the venue a fine, but to move into a mediation process.”
One of the other main changes in the bylaw is the introduction of what’s known as “spectral emergence,” or measuring how much a venue’s noise stands out from regular city sounds.
Music venues will be asked not to exceed background noise levels by four decibels during the day and evening and three decibels at night. Municipal employees will measure the levels following any complaints received.
Although the borough said it will be flexible and ready to make adjustments, the levels were one aspect of the bylaw both Weisz and Gauliard-Martineau said could be a cause for concern.
“For anyone who understands sound, three or four decibels is not very much at all,” Gauliard-Martineau said. “It’s basically a murmur.”
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