One person’s music is another person’s noise.
And so went the discussion at the Village of Haines Junction Aug. 25 council meeting.
The open council meeting was arranged to listen to the range of community perspectives in consideration of replacing the community’s more general Noise Bylaw, and consider whether a new one should include more specific guidance.
Some people’s submissions considered how to measure decibel levels (they are logarithmic), while other people talked about acoustic versus amplified music. Acceptable times to shut off music came up several times during the discussion, with recommendations ranging from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The dialogue in the Village of Haines Junction’s council chambers showed how one business’s model (music), could affect another business’s livelihood (quiet nighttime rest). Noise space is shared, and can’t be controlled by usual attempts at zoning classification.
Haines Junction is at the junction of the Alaska Highway and the Haines Road. The community lies within the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. The population of the village has been growing steadily and is now home to nearly 1,000 people, making it the fourth-largest community in the Yukon.
The meeting closed with council suggesting that they would like to consider other kinds of noises like early morning lawn mowers and barking dogs to form a more well-rounded discussion.
Council instructed administration to prepare a report on the comments received during the public meeting on the noise bylaw, and to categorize the areas thematically.
They also invited the public to continue to comment via the village administration for another two-week period.
Contact Lawrie Crawford at lawrie.crawford@yukon-news.com