A bylaw raising fines for noise infractions in the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was deferred at the Sept. 7 council meeting, as council looks for ways to allow for earlier start times for construction crews.
The consideration comes after a request from the Sea to Sky branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA), which noted in an Aug. 23 letter to council that while Whistler’s construction start time is 8 a.m., the start time in many neighbouring municipalities is 7 a.m.
“I know that certainly this summer it was pretty tough working in the construction industry, especially during the heat dome,” said Councillor Cathy Jewett, in proposing to amend the RMOW’s noise bylaw to a 7 a.m. start time for construction.
After a short discussion, council directed staff to consider seasonal changes to the start time for construction noise, and return to council at a future meeting for further consideration of the noise bylaw.
Coun. John Grills said he’s open to the discussion, but wasn’t sure about the 7 a.m. start time.
“I think we’ve just got to take into consideration all of the neighbourhoods, and is an hour back the appropriate amount, or is it half an hour back … there’s a big difference,” he said.
“A lot of this town works evenings and late into the night that are going home to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, and then having somebody next door firing up saws and so forth at 7 could be a challenge.”
The deferred bylaw amendment, first discussed at the July 6 meeting, aimed to increase the fine for all noise infractions to $500 (previously proposed at $250 for noise infractions stemming from house parties or outside of designated quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.).
Both matters will be brought back for council’s consideration at a future meeting.
