Nova Scotia tourist town considers noise bylaw after complaints

Proposed noise bylaw for Mahone Bay Residents in a N.S. tourist town known for being quiet want to keep it that way after complaints were filed about noise from nearby businesses.

HALIFAX — Mahone Bay, N.S. is known as a quiet town, and some residents want to make sure it stays that way.

A proposed bylaw is being worked on after complaints that noise from some businesses is becoming disruptive.

“It’s extremely disruptive to our family and to our neighbors,” says Mahone Bay resident, Cathy Andreau.

She and her family of six moved to the town a few years ago next to what was at the time, a bed and breakfast.

A new owner has since turned it into a restaurant with a patio that stays open later than others in the community.

“It’s just that this one business is open 12 hours a day, seven days a week in a residential area and they have a patio and live music and it affects the neighbours.

“Noise is probably one of the three top complaints that we get in talking with citizens,” says Mayor David Devenne.

To help quell those concerns, staff were instructed to come up with parameters for a noise bylaw. They arrived at a threshold of 65 decibels during the day and 55 at night.

Business owners claim the levels would be met during a normal conversation.

“Two people sitting, having a normal discussion would never be taken to task because of the sound bylaw,” says Mayor Devenne.

“It’s the unusual noise, it’s the kind of grading sound that people hear from time to time that we would be attempting to address.”

Still, council unanimously voted against the proposal and instructed staff to come up with new guidelines.

“I think the noise bylaw, is it was first presented wasn’t what people of Mahone Bay Mayor would want and so I think in that respect I think it’s good that they’re going back to the drawing board but we are definitely in favour of a noise bylaw,” says Andreau.

Mayor Devenne says the town has a “Peace and Good Order” bylaw but it is too vague and out-of-date, rather a more defined framework is needed to deal with disruptive noise levels.

“A noise bylaw would help to define and provide a vehicle to resolve those differences of opinion,” he says.

That’s what staff are working on now.

A revised version is expected to be presented to council sometime near the end of September.