The Vancouver City Clerk's Department sent us the following information on June 16, 2003:

RE: Noise By-law - Miscellaneous Amendments (Construction Noise)

Following the Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment meeting on June 12, 2003, Vancouver City Council approved the following:

A) THAT Vancouver City Council declare construction noise, outside of the hours permitted in the Noise Control By-law and which can be easily heard by an individual or member of the public who is not on the same premises, to be an objectionable noise, and therefore prohibited.

B) THAT the Noise Control By-law be amended to require that signage be posted at all construction sites, except single and two family dwellings, with a building permit value in excess of $500,000, advising the public of the applicable sections of the Noise Control By-law, the name of the construction firm, the name and phone number of a person within that firm who may be contacted during all on-site working hours and the City Noise Complaint telephone numbers.

C) THAT Section 15 of the Noise Control By-law be amended to provide for the 85 decibel limit to be measured at the boundaries of the construction site, providing reduced noise levels at the nearest residential point of reception.

D) THAT the application fee for the Mayor,s permission referred to in Section 17(2)(i) of the Noise Control By-law be increased to $75 to better reflect the actual costs of processing these applications, that the application procedure laid out in Section 17(2) be moved to an Appendix of the Noise Control By-law and that Section 17 be amended accordingly.

E) THAT the Director of Legal Services bring forward for consideration by Council the Noise Control By-law amendments necessary to implement Council,s decisions.

F) THAT Vancouver City Council request the Director of Health Protection, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, to meet with the Construction Industry regarding the by-law amendments and to monitor the situation for a report back to Council within one year.

(These amendments are only part of what the Vancouver Urban Noise Task Force recommended in 1997).

Executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association (CHOA) Tony Gioventu wrote in The Province on June 20, 2003, about the strata law and offered these tips that may also be helpful re. noise issues: "Councils and strata employees often feel empowered to write bylaws, rules or covenants that are restrictive, technically demanding, cross the boundaries of authority, and place unrealistic prohibitions on residents. Try to avoid the potential conflicts that will be both costly and destructive to your community. Before your strata proceeds with bylaws that adversely affect the rights of owners - such as limited use of property, rentals, age restrictions, pets, court actions, recovery of costs or access to strata lots - have your lawyer review the final draft." Contact CHOA at 604-584-2462, toll-free 1-877-353-2462, fax 604-515-9643, e-mail tony@choa.bc.ca