Anmore council considers bylaw changes to fight noise pollution from construction sites

The Village of Anmore is weighing several bylaw updates to quiet down construction noise.

On Dec. 3, Anmore council unanimously voted for staff to report back on other municipalities’ regulations around noise and soil removal, following complaints of continuous drilling from one development site.

“It was unbearable for these people in the surrounding neighborhood,” said Mayor John McEwen. “There has to be a compromise here for livability.”

The construction noise in question is affecting properties on Crystal Creek Drive, which underwent a substantial subdivision in recent years to allow development of a single-family neighbourhood on an elevated rocky area.

Development on this upland area requires a significant amount of blasting and drilling, but when the pricey homes were first being built, there were no nearby residents for the noise to disturb, McEwen said. Now there are, he noted.

McEwen said a substantial amount of rock, more than originally predicted, had to be removed, forcing homeowners to suffer the racket for several weeks.

“People working from home literally could not work. The house was constantly shaking,” he said. “Days led into weeks.”

The village needs to act as there are many lots within its jurisdiction that could be affected by similar disturbances in the future, according to McEwen.

B.C.’s Community Charter allows municipalities to regulate nuisance activities, and Anmore does have a noise control bylaw on the books setting out days and times when construction activity is allowed.

The problem, according to staff, is there is no mechanism to control the resulting decibel levels or duration of sounds.

Uninterrupted drilling was a complaint from homeowners, and staff noted other municipalities have attempted to define “continuous noise” under their bylaws.

With respect to blasting and drilling, the village does not currently have any regulations related to soil removal (which includes gravel, rock, boulders, and bedrocks), meaning the associated booming and buzzing can continue for 12-hour periods during weekdays.

“This was much noisier than a construction zone,” McEwen said, suggesting council could consider shortening the window for when blasting and drilling is permitted to four hours.

Coun. Kim Trowbridge, on the other hand, said they “need to be realistic about how construction works.”

He said council could add more regulations around what days these activities could take place, but cautioned against becoming too restrictive, stating they could inadvertently escalate the housing costs.

“Contractors will simply charge the homeowner more, so it’s a tough one,” Trowbridge said.

Coun. Doug Richardson agreed, stating that while he thought the city’s permitted time windows could be limited, it could end up costing developers a lot more.

He said he would need a more detailed breakdown before making a decision. 

“You can’t hire people for three hours,” Richardson said. “In some ways, it’s better to get the job over and done with.”

Staff also suggested council could choose to further regulate horns and other warning sounds on construction-related motor vehicles, but the idea was rejected by Couns. Paul Weverink and Richardson.

Weverink said he was hesitant to advise a contractor on any of their in-house safety policies, as the city could be liable if an incident occurs.

“I don’t really want to prescribe something that could be less safe and possibly cost lives, so I would really struggle with that one,” Weverink said.