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Pet Peeves -- Noise
I value my sleep -- and nothing annoys me more than when someone is making noise while I'm trying to sleep.
The city in which I live in has noise bylaws, and this page is a list of every time I have had to launch a complaint against someone for violating the noise bylaw.
I had never made a complaint in my life until the Real Canadian Super Store (a Loblaws company; we'll call them just "RCSS" for short here) started construction across the road.
Since then, I've made several.
I've even been forced into the expense of several THOUSAND dollars to install thick (6mm double pane) "noise reducing" windows.
The noise continues; and now I'm just plain pissed off!
The noise will get worse with the new construction happening beside the RCSS.
If you are a resident of Bridlewood with the same problem, here is some contact information for the RCSS that you will find useful:
You can contact the City of Ottawa to register your noise complaint by calling 311.
For fastest response, do not dial anything when prompted; this will force a live human to answer your call.
Tell them the nature of the noise ("construction", or "unloading"), when it started, and where it's originating from.
When they have taken the information, they are required to (but often don't) give you a tracking number.
Request this number.
Email this tracking number to the two email addresses above.
The fines seem to be in the range of $305 to $5k, although I have yet to be quoted an actual amount that has been levied as a result of any of my complaints.
(In fact, I have heard nothing that even suggests that any fines or other punishment has been handed out in any of the cases I reported.)
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The Bylaws
The bylaws are quite simple.
No construction or loading/unloading shall take place between 23:00 (22:00 for construction) and 07:00 (09:00 on Sunday or stat. holiday).
This is not rocket science, and requires only a watch and perhaps a few skilled brain cells.
The full text is here, with
some additional (quite useful) clarification here.
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2006 09 19
Construction on the RCSS started at 05:45 in the morning.
This isn't the first incident, merely the first one I have recorded.
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2006 09 26
After 11 PM, two loud "street cleaning" machines decided to clean the parking lot at the RCSS.
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2006 09 27
The City of Ottawa violated its own bylaws when a city construction crew started hammering in metal posts at 6 AM for the new lights going
up at the intersection of Eagleson and the RCSS parking lot.
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2006 10 07 Case 2006-366-084
At 2:45 AM, a crew at the RCSS decided now would be a great time to change light bulbs on the overhang portion of the roof.
So, they got themselves a little lift ladder, and it made this wonderful BEEP BEEP BEEP sound every time it was moved to change a different lightbulb.
A complaint was made to the City.
The store manager, Dave Massine, emailed with the following promise:
At this point, now that construction is over, trades have left and the
store is staffed by my team and I [sic], I can assure you that you will have
my fullest cooperation ensuring that noise bylaws are respected.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, Mr Massine was overly optimistic.
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2006 12 21
Once again, street cleaning machines were in the parking lot at the RCSS, after 11 PM.
Since there had been no snowfall for several days, they were therefore not removing snow.
I lodged a complaint, and received the following from the head office email (on the 27th):
These vehicles were on our lot sweeping the parking lot and doing regular maintenance work.
We will have our store manager follow up immediately and have this matter rectified.
The store manager never bothered to followed up.
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2007 04 06 Case 2007-083-847
RCSS decided to clean its parking lot after 11PM.
A complaint was registered with the City.
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2007 07 09 Case 2007-202-294
At 5 AM, a construction crew at the RCSS decided it would be a great time to start power-sanding the concrete at the front of the store.
I drove there, confronted the workers, and they seemed blissfully unaware of "bylaws" and continued working.
The noise was so loud at source that the workers had to wear ear protection!
I emailed both the head office and the manager directly, and have had no response from either.
I emailed the City and requested a follow up from a bylaw officer, but have heard nothing yet.
Added later (2007 07 22): I received a follow up from the bylaw officer, and she has now laid charges against the RCSS in this matter.
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Snow Removal
Don't bother reporting any noise related to snow removal.
The bylaw says:
EXEMPTIONS
21. (4) The provisions of this by-law shall not apply to snow removal activities for hire.
This means that so long as I have "snow removal for hire" on my vehicle, and am nominally engaged in removing snow, I can blast my stereo,
have a BEEP BEEP BEEP backup siren going constantly, or do anything else that generates as much noise as I feel like.
Aren't bylaws wonderful? :-(
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2008 04 15 Solved
Problem solved. I moved to Kanata Lakes, where I can actually sleep with the windows wide open! What a change!
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