Picture Butte starts updating Noise Bylaw

Potential bylaw changes include definitions of ‘weekday’ and ‘nighttime’, exclusion of section pertaining to tractor-trailers

By Nikki Jamieson
Sunny South News

The Town of Picture Butte is seeking public input as they update their noise bylaw.

During Picture Butte town council’s regular March 26 meeting, they revisit the proposed noise bylaw.

Council had previous looked at a draft of the proposed bylaw in a February meeting, and during discussion over it, they had asked administration if truck tractor-trailers were allowed in residential areas. After looking at the town’s Traffic Bylaw, town CAO Keith Davis reported that no, they were not allowed, with the exception of conditions such as deliveries.

He said that because of this, he removed section 7.3, which read, “A person who owns, occupies or controls a truck-tractor or tractor-trailer must not at any time allow it to remain running for longer than 20 minutes when it is stationary in a Residential District”, but said that aside from that change, it was the same document they had reviewed previously

Coun. Joe Watson asked if they don’t allow someone to park their semi-tractor on their drive away without the trailer unit. Davis said that was correct. Watson then asked if they allowed holiday trailers to be parked on the driveway, which was about the same size. Davis also conformed that.

“When I talked at the last meeting, I talked about the guy who drops his trailer… but drives home and uses that truck as a big car. Some pick-ups, three-quarter-ton pick-ups, they’re almost as big as some of them, but what ever. He goes home, parks in his driveway, goes into his house and goes to bed,” said Watson. “As long as he doesn’t fire the thing up, which is covered in the bylaws, and lets it run and all that.

“I’m not talking about parking in the street, I’m talking on his own driveway.”

Coun. Henry de Kok said that he “wouldn’t be opposed to that”.

Davis pointed out that the issue with trucks was in the traffic bylaw, which they weren’t discussing that night. To change that, they would need to amend the traffic bylaw. The issue in the Noise Bylaw, was that they took out that they “can’t idle that truck for 20 minutes”.

“Let’s say you wanted to review it (the Traffic Bylaw) and allow truck-trailers to go into residential districts, we’re still striking that 20 minutes of idling,” said Davis, adding they could direct administration to look into it.

Council performed first reading of the Noise Bylaw. Residents are encouraged to contact the town for feedback at keith@picturebutte.ca, by 3:00 p.m. on April 5.

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