Councillor wants Yonge Street merchants to turn it down

If Kyle Rae has his way, by-law officers will be given increased latitude when handing out fines to businesses that make noise.

By Chris Dart
(Originally published in the Toronto Observer, Fall 2006)

Thanks to Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae, Yonge Street should soon be getting a lot quieter.
A by-law change, proposed by Rae and passed by council on Sept. 28, will make it easier for city officials to get tough with merchants who have loudspeakers on the sidewalk.

Rae says he made the proposal after getting several complaints this past summer from residents of his downtown ward of Toronto Centre-Rosedale, who said they were disturbed by noise pollution from businesses on Yonge and Church streets.

Under the changes, by-law officers will be allowed to go into stores and issue fines and warnings, even without a resident complaint.

“I discovered through the complaints that staff are no longer able to act on a violation without a complaint from a resident,” Rae said. “So as we go about working on various festivals and projects, we are not able act on violations as we see them.””

'Noise cannot carry across property lines'

Rae says that by-law officers will not be measuring the actual volume of loudspeakers, but will determine if the offending noise carries across property lines.

Noise cannot cross property lines it’s not about a decibel level,” he said. “One property owner doesn’t have the right to force noise on another property owner.””

Philippe Gauthier, a manager at Seduction, an adult store at Yonge and Wellesley streets, says the by-law change is unnecessary.

“I don’t know why they would regulate it if there are no complaints,” said Gauthier. “We play music outside until midnight and it never bothers anyone. The cars are louder than the speakers, anyway. I don’t see why they should go through the trouble.””

Joe Taylor, owner of Honest Canuck trading at Yonge and Maitland streets, is more direct in his criticism of the by-law change.

'Just another infringement'

“It’s just another infringement in a country that’s hard enough to do business in already,” he said.” I think it’s kind of a shame.””

Rae says that business operators such as Gauthier and Taylor just don’t understand what downtown residents have to deal with. “They’re not residents who have to put up with the noise,” he said.

Taylor says that potential fines for noise represents a threat to small businesses such as his. “

“Rents on Yonge Street are so high most places are barely getting by,” Taylor said. ”I don’t know any businesses around here that are really making a ripping, so any fine goes right to the bottom line.””

Taylor says downtown residents should enjoy the music.

“If you live on Yonge Street, you’re used to the constant noise of cars and such. You’d think music would be a relief.””

To help enforce the by-law, Rae has suggested that council act on city staff’s recommendation that four additional by-law officers be hired. Says Rae, the cost of the additional officers would be in the neighbourhood of $300,000.

While he admits the city is short of money, he says it must address the fact that there is a demand from citizens to do something about noise.

“I would say noise is a major issue among residents,” Rae said. “I think there’s a political expectation that something be done about it.”

If there is a demand that retailers turn down the volume, it hasn’t reached Gauthier. In nine years of business, Seduction's neighbours have never mentioned the business' outdoor speakers.

“We’ve never had a complaint and we’ve forgotten to turn (the speakers) off over night,” Gauthier said.