They’ll have to keep a lid on it.
Barrie city council approved a motion Wednesday night to deny a noise exemption request for a highrise apartment development at 37 Johnson St., a request that would have allowed construction noise until 10 p.m., instead of 5 p.m.
Construction is underway on the Shoreview, an 11-storey rental apartment tower on 37 Johnson St., right behind Imperial Towers, which is also 11 storeys.
Lucas du Mont, property manager with FRAM + Slokker, a Mississauga-based company involved with the project, was to make a deputation to council last night, arguing for the exemption, but withdrew the request.
“I suspect that the applicant understood that there was no appetite to reconsider his proposal,” said Coun. Clare Riepma, who represents this part of Barrie. “The construction of this building has impacted the neighbourhood with a lot of truck traffic, noise and lighting at night.
“The applicant may of course re-apply for a minor exemption from the noise bylaw,” Riepma added. “I am sure that the city will work with them if they do re-apply to do what is best for the neighbourhood.”
Riepma has also said he supports the staff recommendation to uphold the existing noise bylaw to protect against a precedent being set for other construction projects.
FRAM + Slokker wanted to extend normal work hours to 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., instead of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and that if there were unforeseen circumstances, those hours be extended even longer, as needed.
The need to extend these hours of construction outside of the permitted hours is for the time required after each concrete slab is poured, approximately once a week. The finishing of the concrete can be lengthy and can result in several workers staying late under temporary lighting, utilizing gas-powered machines to trowel the concrete floor slabs.
To accelerate the concrete’s curing and decrease resident disruptions, FRAM + Slokker has said it would begin the concrete pours early in the morning, the formworks below the areas being concreted would be enclosed and heated and an accelerator would be added to the concrete mix.
Workers would keep the construction noise to a minimum, the company said, but it would still infringe on the current bylaw requirements.
Barrie’s noise bylaw regulates many types of sound, with some prohibited by time and area while other types are regulated by noise level.
Noise related to construction is regulated, in part, by a quiet zone or an area within 500 metres of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), or a long-term care facility as regulated by the Ministry of Health, Barrie City Hall, or any provincial or federal courthouse.
Barrie Manor Enhanced Care Community, at the corner of Johnson and Blake streets, is located approximately 190 metres from the construction site at 37 Johnson, well within the 500-metre buffer area.
The city’s enforcement services department has received several noise complaints related to the construction project at 37 Johnson between February 2022 and September 2022. The majority relate to construction noise taking place outside of the currently permitted times in the bylaw.
Several complaints about lights on the construction site crane system have also been received by the city, although that is not a direct violation of a city bylaw. There have also been complaints about parking, related to the large construction vehicles as well as on-site employees parking, which impacts the surrounding streets, complaints which have been addressed by staff.
Neighbours and owner/developer Starlight Developments have a history of butting heads on this project. In September 2017, city council supported area residents and unanimously turned down a proposal to develop the residential tower at 37 Johnson, rejecting both the Official Plan and zoning-bylaw amendments being sought by Starlight Developments.
At the time, the Barrie East End Household Association submitted a petition with more than 400 signatures from people against the proposal.
But just more than two years later, following an appeal of council’s decision, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT, formerly the Ontario Municipal Board, or OMB, ruled the project is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement on land-use planning, conforms to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan and adheres to the city's Official Plan. It was therefore approved in October 2019.
FRAM + Stokker is short for FRAM Building Group and Slokker Real Estate Group.
