Bylaw would outlaw noisy building on Sundays, holidays

A new motion before the city calls for the end of construction noise on Sundays and statutory holidays.

Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Karen Stintz said she’s tired of all the noise from redevelopment that disturbs her and the rest of her ward on what are supposed to be quiet days off. She introduced a motion that would reintroduce a clause that was in place in the former city of North York banning developers from doing major construction on Sundays and statutory holidays.

When the noise bylaw was harmonized last year, city councillors decided to allow construction noise on those days as long as it didn’t begin until after 9 a.m. — despite a staff recommendation to keep the restriction.

"The noise has a significant impact on quality of life," said Stintz.

But Beaches-East York Councillor Sandra Bussin is not sure that an outright ban on Sundays and holidays is the way to go about addressing the noise problem.

"It’s an expensive proposition," she said about the motion. "There are a number of projects going on here. We do have complaints from time to time but there are also complaints about concerts on Sundays. Everyone has a difference tolerance level."

The motion calls for discussion with developers to gauge the effect a new bylaw would have on them. Time is money for developers, who often work seven days a week on construction sites so they can complete the work and move on to other projects.

However, local developers don’t seem to mind the possibility of taking an extra day off.

"I would ban it," said Frank Mazzotta, of Armour Heights Developments. "Nobody should be able to work on those days. That’s the only day we construction guys get to rest."

While the financial pressures are there, Mazzotta said big companies almost never make their employees work on Sundays and statutory holidays, unless there is a looming deadline and that it would be the smaller companies that might feel the most backlash if the noise bylaw is amended.

Bussin said instead of banning construction on certain days, she’d rather look at other ways to curb weekend noise

"Revisiting the times that construction is allowed to operate is a good idea," she said.

Currently, construction is allowed to begin at 9 a.m. on Sundays.

Stintz said the new bylaw would allow for minor construction to continue, and emergency work would of course be exempt.

She said a report from the Urban Development Services department on the feasibility of the new bylaw should be finished by December.