Noise for noise: Neighbours battle over children at play

Annoying alarm: Neighbours dispute kids playing A Southeast Calgary family feels tension and anxiety every time they go out in their backyard. Shaun Frenette explains.

A Calgary family says an ongoing dispute with their neighbours has escalated, thanks to a new alarm that goes off whenever their children make noise while playing outside.

Chelsey Reid says the tension with her neighbours has been ongoing for two years, with the neighbours regularly complaining about the noise her five-year-old Jax and younger daughter Nora make when they play outside.

The kids were kept inside most of the winter, but last week, when they finally got the chance to play outside again, she noticed an annoying chirping alarm that goes off in her neighbours’ yard whenever her kids yell or whoop.

“I thought it was an annoying bird, and it wasn't until we were out in the back that I realized it was when the kids were just playing,” Reid told CTV Calgary.

Reid says her family has tried to talk with the neighbours many times without success, and she’s now nervous to let the kids play in their own backyard.

“The tension is strong, I’ve been talking to friends about how I’ve been anxious for this upcoming spring and summer because of the way that they play. The way that they act towards my kids, I almost find it's bullying children,” Reid said.

Under Calgary bylaws, normal play by kids in their yards is not considered a noise violation; it is unclear whether the alarm the neighbours have set up is a violation.

CTV Calgary attempted to speak to the neighbours, and knocked on their door several times over two days. Though the neighbours were home, they did not come to the door.

The Reids have now sought help from the city as well as the Community Mediation Calgary Society, a non-profit group that offers the services of professional mediators for free.

"The goal is to open up that conversation, to get the communication going again, to get the understanding, and then some sort of resolution that works for both parties,” says CMCS Coordinator Kathleen Ladner.

The CMCS, which also handles disputes over property lines, trees, parking and snow removal, says 74 per cent of cases they handle end with a full resolution.

Reid says she hopes the dispute ends soon, so both she and her kids can enjoy the summer.

“I don’t want to play this game year after year, it's not fun. I just want it to end -- peace, mediation, something,” she says.

With a report from CTV Calgary’s Shaun Frenette