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Clearview fines Destiny for violating noise bylaw
http://www.simcoe.com/sc/collingwoo...p-2510397c.html
Township charges rave, GNE board
Michael Gennings, Special
08/27/04 00:00:00
The Collingwood Agricultural Society is charged with violating Clearview Township's noise bylaw during the World Electronic Music Festival (WEMF) last month.
Also charged is Toronto-based Destiny Productions, which presented the festival at the Great Northern Exhibtion Fairgrounds, owned by the society.
"Based on the number of complaints I received that weekend charges were laid," bylaw enforcement officer Wes Prosser said.
Meanwhile, because of the festival the township is in the process of passing a special events bylaw which includes strict stipulations for future events.
Also because of the number of large scale events in the region, the Town of Wasaga Beach is preparing a special events bylaw which will require permits and financial guarantees.
Huronia West OPP detachment commander Rod Lake wrote to councils in Wasaga and Clearview earlier this year to request the bylaws.
Lake told Wasaga councillors the OPP first learned about the WEMF on the Victoria Day weekend when the intelligence branch learned the event was moving to the fairgrounds.
A retired municipal clerk-administrator and former Ontario Hydro executive are among six appointees to the board of Wasaga's electrical utility.
In a recorded vote Wasaga councillors who are the sole shareholders of Wasaga Distribution and its related companies elected current board chair Jim Fraser, former Essa Township clerk Brenda Sigouin, former Ontario Hydro director of human resources Bruce Young, Eckart Scheuing, Morley Berkovitch and Brian Kirkwood.
With Mayor Cal Patterson the board will have seven directors. It replaces the current three-member board which included Fraser, Walter Borthwick and Brian McLean - appointed under the once publicly-owned utility.
The six were appointed to terms of one or two years based on the voting by councillors.
At the time, Lake said their information was that the event amounted to a three-day rave.
For a number of years a special events bylaw has been in place in Collingwood.
Because of the World Electronic Music Festival, Prosser said the township's bylaw enforcement department received a total of 12 complaints during the July 23-25 festival.
"Given my experience in Clearview Township 12 complaints for one thing is a lot," he said, adding this is the first noise bylaw charge laid by the municipality.
Prosser said he heard through other sources, such as local elected officials, of additional noise complaints.
"The first complaint I got was around midnight on Friday. The bulk of the other complaints I got the next day. People had left voice mails or paged me," he said.
Mayor Fran Sainsbury said she received about six complaints from people, including one at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
All of the callers were angry at the festival for being so rude by playing music too loud, she said.
The mayor said she drove through the area Saturday night and could hear the festival from different concession roads near the grounds.
"I think they take advantage of small rural municipalities with these things," she said. "We have to pay for the support services when these events come, they make their money and leave."
The township's pending special events bylaw should include stipulations that help prevent such future situations from happening, she said.
Prosser explained that he spent much of Saturday and Sunday interviewing residents who contacted the township about noise.
The furthest complaint was made by someone who lived 10 kilometres away, he noted.
Although he wouldn't talk specifics "because the case is now before the court," Prosser said both the agricultural society and Destiny Productions were cautioned about the noise.
The municipality's noise bylaw states that: "No owner shall cause or permit the creation, presence or existence of any noise or unusual sound that disturbs or are likely to disturb the inhabitants of the Township of Clearview."
Destiny Productions, on Thursday, issued a written statement regarding the noise bylaw charge.
"As with any festival, there is a certain amount of ambient noise associated with a large number of people coming together in one place," spokesperson Ryan Kruger said. "Our event was no different, however we did take steps to ensure we kept this noise from interfering with the community."
He explained all music stages were placed indoors and that security was posted to "ensure doors remained closed throughout the weekend in order to contain the sound."
As well, private vendors and campsites were asked to turn off stereos by 11 p.m.
"Third, when the local bylaw officer informed us that he felt the noise from one of the indoor stages might still pose a problem we turned down the volume of that stage and altered the sound equalization to reduce sound travel."
Kruger said Destiny Productions: "desire[s] to build a strong bond with the Clearview community and continue to bring thousands of tourists to the region for many years to come."
Maxine Coutts-Reid, president of the Collingwood Agricultural Society, didn't return calls to the newspaper.
Prosser said the two organizations have an Oct. 15 date to appear before a judge at the Ontario Court of Justice in Collingwood.
They can plead guilty or go to trial, he said.
The maximum fine if convicted is $5,000.
"...When the local bylaw officer informed us that he felt the noise from one of the indoor stages might still pose a problem we turned down the volume of that stage and altered the sound equalization to reduce sound travel."
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