Town asking for feedback on draft noise regulations for Oakville

Open house meeting at Town Hall on February 28

The Town of Oakville has completed a draft of its noise by-law. Some updates to the by-law, which regulates excessive sound to minimize disturbances in the community, include: 

• New decibel and time limits, including reducing the allowable outdoor decibel level of music/tv sources from 55 dBA to 50 dBA, and increasing the timeframe from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Amendments to reflect changes to the Municipal Act, including the Province permitting noise generated by deliveries to a broad range of businesses and removing municipal authority to control noise related to the delivery of goods.

The Oakville community is invited to review the drafted noise regulations and provide feedback by taking a short questionnaire or sending your comments to enforcement@oakville.ca. The questionnaire takes less than five minutes to complete and is anonymous.
 

Open house on February 28

Community members can also provide feedback on the drafted noise regulations in person at an open house on Wednesday, February 28 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in the South Atrium of Town Hall. Municipal Enforcement and Climate Action staff will be available to answer questions.
 

Background

• In December 2023, Town Council received the draft noise by-law, which prohibits and regulates noise in Oakville, and approved staff recommendations to seek input on the draft. They also reviewed: 
  • Noise By-Law Update
  • Noise Investigation Process
  • Noise Regulations Questionnaire results from April 2022 
• The current Noise By-law 2008-098 is more than 15 years old and doesn’t address current community expectations, changing noise control guidelines issued by the Province, and recent changes to the Municipal Act that have changed the authority for municipalities to control noise.
• To learn more about the current noise regulations, visit the Noise By-law page.