Myers Lake residents could be fined for yelling, shouting, singing too loudly

Residents of Myers Lake can now be fined for yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing too loudly, even during the daytime.

A 24-hour noise by-law revision is being enforced in the community to remedy a noisy stereo problem. The revised bylaw, which has been implemented since March, bans “any human sound such as yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, singing,” and any sound from speakers around the lake at all times.

Elsewhere in the community, volume and voices must be kept down between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Back in March, the Georgian Bay Township city council passed the revisions to the noise by-law, deeming the properties directly around the lake a quiet zone at all times.

The bylaw revision impacts 61 properties on Myers Lake, several of which are cottages often rented short-term.

According to the staff report, after notices were sent to those who would be directly affected, the city received nine responses. Five letters were in favour of the quiet zone implementation, four were not. Overall, there was only a 23 per cent response rate from the community regarding the revision.

As a by-law, enforcement remains on a complaint basis, but anyone who is too noisy could end up with a $180 fine. According to the staff report, by-law officers enforcing the quiet zone will work in conjunction with the Bracebridge OPP, and any charges are up to the discretion of the officer.

City council is treating the by-law revision as a warning, and a way to have lake residents to be mindful of how much noise they make. “All we have to do is issue one or two fines, and the game will change,” Coun. Pat Edwards said at the council meeting in March.

Victoria Day weekend will be the first real test to see if the quiet zone by-law is effective in keeping noise levels down on the lake.