Making noise about noise
St. John’s resident says after-hours complaint wasn’t addressed by 311 operators
As a resident of downtown
St. John’s, Paul Collins is used to the everyday sounds from people living close together.
But when noisy residents in the neighbourhood kept him from sleeping at 1 a.m. last week, he felt he had no choice but to call and complain.
“Loud music, thumping around at all hours. Some people are just inconsiderate,” Collins told The Telegram earlier this week.
But Collins said he soon found out that reporting such incidents after hours can cause more headaches than the loud music and shouting.
He said when he called the city’s Access 311 line, after-hours operators told him he couldn’t lodge a complaint with them and that he either had to do it during business hours or call the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
From past experience calling about neighbourhood rackets, Collins said he was told each time by RNC officers that that unless there is a criminal element to the situation, there isn’t much the police can do.
“(The 311 operators) were passing the buck. It’s a city issue and the city should deal with it …,” said Collins, who said he was told by city officials that complaints about noise before 11 p.m. are not admissible unless they are of a serious nature.
“I’m a taxpayer. I should be able to complain to the city — day or night — about any problem I have, whether it’s a water and sewer problem or a noisy neighbour…
“But there seems to be a disconnect between the operators at the (after-hours) 311 line and (their knowledge of) city bylaws.”
The city’s noise bylaws has certain restrictions, including electronic devices and loudspeakers (without a special event permit), engines or motors (for more than 20 minutes, unless deemed necessary for essential services or emergency purposes), and loading and unloading, moving, unpacking “unless necessary for the maintenance of essential services or the moving of private household effects” between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. or within 100 metres of a residential zone.
Noise is permitted for “the preservation or restoration of property” for short durations or in case of emergencies.
However, according to the city, 311 operators who take after-hour calls are not city employees. They work for Telelink, a call centre contracted by the city to handle late calls.
In an emailed response to The Telegram, the city stated, “They provide daily reports, dispatch to on call groups and take messages. They do not have the same depth of training as full-time customer service representatives, but they are given as much detail as possible to deal with issues that are most common during the times they provide the service.”
But Collins said the operators he spoke to knew nothing about city policies and wouldn’t even disclose their company name.
“(The supervisor) was a bit on the aggressive side, in my opinion, and wasn’t very co-operative …,” Collins said. “If the people running the 311 aren’t city employees, there’s no surprise there’s a disconnect between the people talking to the public and what city policy is.”
And some of the after-hour 311 operators at Telelink are not actually located in the city.
Telelink CO-CEO Cindy Roma told The Telegram, “Ninety-eight per cent of our agents are in St. John’s, but we have a small percentage of employees who worked in our centre here and are now working remotely.”
Access 311 was implemented in 2004 and was operated by city employees. In February 2018, the city began using Telelink for after-hours 311 service. It started as a pilot project and the contract was awarded after the pilot ended and through a request-for-proposal process.
Coun. Maggie Burton also lives downtown and says she is sympathetic with residents who are bothered by noise at night, especially those living in the vicinity of George Street.
“I certainly understand people’s frustration,” she said.
She said when an after-hours residential noise complaint is received, it is passed along to inspection services the next business day.
There’s then a process to deal with it, with each report addressed on a caseby-case basis.
Burton said if it’s an ongoing noise issue with a certain residential properties, the city will request a detailed report of recent noise complaints received by the RNC. A letter is then issued to the property owner to inform them about the complaint and the property can be scheduled for a monitoring inspection at night by city staff if warranted.
“The findings — from the RNC report and the after-hours inspection —can then determine the direction our staff might take with the file, which means legal action, but every case is different,” Burton said.
The maximum fine city staff can issue for noise bylaw violations is $100.
“People should be assured that once a complaint is received by Telelink or by our own 311 service representatives that are trained by the city … appropriate action is taken,” Burton said. “If the action is not taken, residents should continue to get in touch and find out what the status is on their complaint.”
She said what happened to Collins is unfortunate and if she had specifics, the city would look into it.
“We’re happy to look into any service complaints from anybody at any time …,” she said.
“I do want people to know we have a lot of empathy for those people (who have issues with neighbourhood noise). It can be really disruptive to their lives. That’s why we’re here — to find solutions.”
Meanwhile, RNC Const. James Cadigan said the RNC will follow up on noise complaints when they can on behalf of the public, but admitted officers are often busy with more serious cases.
“It does come down to availability. It won’t be a high priority,” Cadigan said. “But keep in mind, if there’s no criminality, you’re looking at city bylaws and different legislation.”
Cadigan said officers will respond if criminal activity is suspected — for example, if there’s underage drinking, violence or threats.
He pointed out that noisy neighbours can be difficult to deal with, as people have the right to enjoy their property.
He said in most cases, officers can call the complainant and provide coaching, offering suggestions on how best deal with the noise issue in order to get “a peaceful resolution.”
“We are very much involved in the community in that sense,” he said. “We will mediate and respond to try to find a peaceful resolution.”
“There seems to be a disconnect between the operators at the (after-hours) 311 line and (their knowledge of) city bylaws.” Downtown St. John’s resident Paul Collins