The cooling system required for the ice pads of the Halifax Curling Club located near the club’s Brussels Street end is nearly 14 feet tall. It rises over the backyard fence and sits 20 feet from the bedroom window of people who have lived here for 38 years and been a good neighbour to the curling club.
Martin Bauman of the Coast reports that next-door neighbours of the historic club say renovations to the building’s cooling system have made living in their home “intolerable” for the last seven years.
Ranging anywhere between 70 and 75 decibels, the curling club’s coolant exhaust noise registers somewhere between the hum of a washing machine and the steady rumble of an idling car. It also sits precisely on the cusp of what health and safety authorities deem to be safe for prolonged exposure. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association says that you can listen to sounds at 70dB “for as long as you want” without risk. But according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noises above 70dB “over a prolonged period of time” can cause hearing loss. (Bauman & Williamson, 2023)
A Staff Writer at https://www.reference.com/ has researched acceptable Noise Levels for residential areas.
An acceptable indoor noise level limit for residential areas is 45 decibels. The limit for outdoor areas with human activity is 55 decibels, and the limit of safety before hearing loss is 70 decibels, reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency….
Residential area noise levels are abnormal and disruptive when they hinder conversation, sleep and other usual activities and have a general negative impact on quality of life, explains the EPA. Research confirms that high noise levels cause problems such as high blood pressure, stress, loss of productivity and hearing loss. Although the EPA does not directly regulate noise issues, its noise level guidelines provide a basis to help local and state governments set standards. (How Do You Determine an Acceptable Noise Level for Residential Areas?, 2022)
By Law N-200 of the Halifax Regional Municipality, “Respecting Noise” provides some boundaries concerning neighbourhood noise.
BY LAW N-200
3. (1) No person shall engage in any activity that unreasonably disturbs or tends to disturb
the peace and tranquillity of a neighbourhood. (By-Law N-200, Respecting Noise | Halifax.ca, n.d.)
Some activities are enumerated in schedules attached to the By Law document.
Part 2
Activities that unreasonably disturb the peace and tranquillity of a residential area, at the
specified times, where the sound resulting therefrom is audible at a point of reception. (By-Law N-200, Respecting Noise | Halifax.ca, n.d.)
The ice making refrigeration unit at the Halifax Curling Club is not attached to a refrigeration trailer but the noise created should be assessed for similarity to prohibitions cited as Activity 6.
Activity 6.
The operation of any refrigeration unit which is attached to a refrigeration trailer unless the refrigeration trailer is in motion; (By-Law N-200, Respecting Noise | Halifax.ca, n.d.)
Systems of environmental and mechanical noise mitigation can be engineered and installed to bring life back for a long term neighbour and avoid the financial penalties cited in the Offence and Penalty section of By Law N-200 and even more importantly relieve the membership of the Halifax Curling Club from distress over the disruption to peace and property off a neighbour that reduces their enjoyment on the sport they love.
References
Bauman, M., & Williamson, P. (2023, April 11). Halifax Curling Club draws lawsuit over noise complaints. The Coast Halifax. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/halifax-curling-club-draws-lawsuit-over-noise-complaints-30593206
By-Law N-200, Respecting Noise | Halifax.ca. (n.d.). Halifax Regional Municipality. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/legislation-by-laws/By-LawN-200.pdf
How Do You Determine an Acceptable Noise Level for Residential Areas? (2022, August 30). www.reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.reference.com/world-view/determine-acceptable-noise-level-residential-areas-3d7fbe8280554eaf?
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