After 20 years, the Township of Muskoka Lakes is updating its noise bylaw in response to mounting feedback from residents, cottagers, and local businesses and construction companies. The feedback, however, hasn’t been homogenous, with some calling for tighter rules and others arguing for more lax noise restrictions.
In 2005, when the bylaw was last updated, Muskoka looked, and sounded, a lot different than it does today. Back then, raucous short-term renters were rare, the beeping and clanging of cottage construction sites were less common, and there were simply less people—and therefore, fewer motorized boats, snowmobiles, and float planes.
Mayor Peter Kelley says it’s routine for the Town to review their noise bylaw roughly every 20 years, but that a recent influx of feedback from community members kick-started an in-depth review. “[The review] was largely based on input from our constituents who were either looking for more or less action,” he says.
The top sources of noise pollution at the cottage
Concerns from cottagers and waterfront residents centred around noise from late-night partying on lakes and from construction, which has boomed in the region in recent years. “Sound bounces over the water quite a long distance, and that’s been a big issue: late-night parties, late-night escapades,” says Kelley. “The cottagers were also looking for some effort on our part to better balance the needs of the construction industry and their desire to come up here and have peace and tranquility.”
Input from the community was collected via a survey issued last fall, and was used to guide the bylaw update, which went before Council for consideration on July 15. Changes in the updated bylaw included pushing back weekday construction start times from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and classifying the delivery of construction materials and waste removal as construction activity. It also outlined more specific times for the prohibition of outdoor music at tourism establishments such as bars and music venues, that window being from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., with the same restrictions on indoor music that could be heard across property lines.
But in response to feedback from the construction industry and the Muskoka Lakes Association, council’s July 15 vote on the proposed bylaw was postponed. This feedback included concerns from the MLA that the newly proposed rules for tourism establishments was forgetting to account for daytime music amplification; the MLA asked that the language be refined to prohibit any noise crossing property lines from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. as well. In an open letter to the Town, MLA president Ken Pearce clarified that “ambient music” during the day should still be permitted.
Is there too much noise at the lake?
Meanwhile, Our Muskoka Stakeholders Association has provided feedback pointing out that later construction start times “would significantly impact the operations of many businesses that rely on early start times to reach job sites as scheduled.” OMSA expounded on the ramifications of this, saying it would restrict these businesses’ ability to meet demand, result in lost work opportunities and delays, and negatively affect trades that depend on timely access to equipment in order to continue their work.
Now, a staff analysis on these comments is underway. “They’re taking a look at [the feedback] and reconsidering whether we had already found the right balance or whether the new information should change our approach,” says Kelley. The staff analysis is slated for review at the Planning Committee on September 17, with a final Council vote to come later in the fall.
Kelley says he’s hopeful the new bylaw, once approved, will leave the majority of stakeholders satisfied and that there will be improved awareness of the rules and regulations. “In a perfect world, we will have found enough balance between all of the different interests,” he says. “And we will do the incredible job that our staff always does: of communicating, explaining, and educating different groups in Muskoka so that they understand the rules and why they exist.”
Related Story Is your boat too noisy? (Here’s how you can tell)
Related Story 4 common cottage neighbour conflicts—and how to resolve them
Related Story Cottage Q&A: Do sirens scare loons?