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TOWN OF TRENTON BY-LAW NO.2024-01
NOISE CONTROL
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
Page 1 of 6
Title: This by-law shall be known and cited as the Noise Control By-law for the Town of Trenton.
Definitions
1. In this By-law, unless the context otherwise requires:
"CAO" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Trenton;
"Construction" includes erection, alteration, repair, dismantling and demolition of structures and
includes structural maintenance, hammering, land clearing, moving of earth, rock or felled trees,
rock breaking, grading, excavating, the laying of pipe or conduit whether above or below ground
level, working with concrete, alteration or installation of any equipment, the structural installation
of construction components or materials in any form whatsoever, the placing or removing of any
construction related materials and includes any related work, but does not include blasting;
"Construction equipment" means any equipment or device designed and intended for use in
construction or material handling including but not limited to air compressors, air tracks, pile
drivers, pneumatic or hydraulic tools, bulldozers, tractors, excavators, trenchers, cranes, derricks,
loaders, backhoes, scrapers, pavers, generators, off-highway haulers or trucks, ditchers,
compactors and rollers, pumps, concrete mixers, graders and other material handling equipment;
"Council" means the Council of the Town of Trenton;
"Dwelling Unit" means living quarters, accessible from a private entrance either outside a building
or in a common area within a building, that are occupied or, if unoccupied, are reasonably fit for
occupancy, and that:
a) contain kitchen facilities within the unit; and
b) have toilet facilities that are not shared with the occupants of other dwelling units;
"Emergency Response Personnel" includes police, fire departments or brigades, registered
emergency services providers, search and rescue personnel, provincial, regional or municipal
Emergency Measures Organizations, ambulance or emergency health services providers and
includes volunteer or military personnel responding to an apparent condition of emergency;
"Enforcement Officer" includes a By-law Officer, Compliance Officer, or any other person
appointed by the CAO or empowered by legislation to enforce this By-law;
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
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"Motor Vehicle" includes an automobile, motorcycle, farm tractor or a self-propelled implement
of husbandry, an off-highway vehicle as defined in the Off-Highway Vehicle Act, and any other
vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular, gravitational or wind power, but does not
include a motorized wheelchair;
"Occupier" means:
a) A person who is a tenant of a dwelling unit, or
b) A person who has responsibility for, or control over, a dwelling unit or the activities there
carried on.
c) For greater certainty, there may be more than one occupier of a dwelling unit.
"Owner" has the same meaning as in the Municipal Government Act;
"Police Officer" means a member of the New Glasgow Regional Police, or any police service duly
appointed by Council;
"Private Property" means real property upon which a dwelling unit is located, including driveways,
lawns, yards and surrounding areas;
"Sound System" includes a public address system, radio, compact disc player, computer or
computer accessory, loudspeaker, microphone, or any other device or apparatus, whether
operated electrically, mechanically or in any other way whatsoever, whether moveable or
stationary, whether located inside or outside a dwelling unit or motor vehicle, that reproduces,
amplifies, emits, or transmits sounds;
"Town" means the Town of Trenton
Authority & Application
2. This Noise Control By-law is enacted pursuant to Section 172 of the Municipal Government Act
(S.N.S. 1998, c. 18).
3. This by-law applies to sound or noise reproduced, amplified, emitted, or transmitted within
the Town.
4. Nothing in this By-law shall exempt any person from obtaining any license, permission, permit,
authority, or approval required under any other By-law or regulation of the Town or any
applicable statute or regulation of the Province of Nova Scotia or Canada. If this By-law
conflicts with any other applicable statute or regulation, the more restrictive statute shall
apply.
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
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General and Mechanical Prohibitions
5. The following acts, among others, are hereby declared to be noises which disturb or tend to
disturb the peace and tranquility of residents located within the boundaries of the Town of
Trenton or any portion of it:
5.1. Making any noise or combination of noises between the hours of 11:00pm of one day and
7:00am of the following day, such that unreasonably disturbs or tends to disturb the peace
and tranquility of a neighbourhood;
5.2. The operation of any motor vehicle engine without an effective muffler, equivalent to the
muffler components that would have been installed in the original equipment.
5.3. The operation of any noise-creating blower power fan or any internal combustion engine,
the operation of which causes noise due to the explosion of operation gases or fluids,
unless the noise from such blower or fan is muffled and such engine is equipped with a
muffler device sufficient to attenuate excessive noise.
Other Prohibitions
6.1. No person shall engage in any activity that unreasonably disturbs or tends to disturb the
peace and tranquility of residents located within the boundaries of the Town;
6.2. No person shall operate or cause or permit to be operated any sound system at such a
level that the resulting sound is heard in a dwelling unit, other than the dwelling unit in
which the sound system in question is located;
6.3. No person in a dwelling unit shall cause any loud and unnecessary noise to be heard on
another property, or in a dwelling unit other than the dwelling unit in which the noise is
generated, including by fighting, screaming, shouting, or singing;
6.4. No occupier shall allow or permit to occur in the dwelling unit of which that person is the
occupier, any activity prohibited as outlined under Section 6.3 above;
6.5. No occupier or owner shall engage in or permit any activity in a dwelling unit which
unreasonably disturbs the peace and tranquility of the Town or any portion of it.
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
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Exemptions
7. This By-law does not apply to:
7.1. Employees or agents of the Town, the Province of Nova Scotia, the Government of
Canada, Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, and public utilities as defined by the Public
Utilities Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c.380 while performing their duties;
7.2. Noises emitted by machinery or equipment when used under the provisions of 7.1 above;
7.3. A person or a corporation, or an employee of such person or organization, reasonably
performing work at the request of any party described in 7.1 above;
7.4. Noise emitted by machinery or equipment used in snow removal and snow clearing
operations;
7.5. Noises in connection with athletic, recreational or school activities in arenas, playing
fields, courts, school grounds or Town parkland areas;
7.6. Noises in relation to organized religious activities;
7.7. Noises in relation to the Trenton FunFest and any event organized by the Town;
7.8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this By-law, it is lawful to emit or cause or permit
the emission of noise in conjunction with:
a) Emergency Response Personnel services undertaken for the immediate health, safety
and welfare of any person;
b) Emergency Response Personnel services undertaken for the preservation of property;
and
c) Emergency Response Personnel services undertaken for the purpose of training
exercises;
7.9. Construction and construction equipment activities between the hours of 7:00am and
9:00pm for which all necessary permits have been obtained;
7.10. Noises generated as part of normal industrial and commercial operations within the
Trenton Industrial Park; and
7.11. Noises caused by the discharge of fireworks within the Town when in compliance with the
Town's Fireworks By-law No.2022-01.
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
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Grant of Exemptions
An exemption from the application of this By-Law may be granted by the CAO following receipt of
a completed temporary noise exemption permit application in such form as is approved by the
CAO from time to time, which form must be received at least ten (10) business days before the
start of the proposed activity. The following process and criteria shall apply to any request for
exemption:
8.1. Upon receiving a completed temporary noise exemption permit application, the CAO shall
cause to be sent, by ordinary mail, to all property owners within 100 meters of the location
of the exempt activity, notification of the application and shall provide the property
owners with contact details to which they may provide written comments on the
application. No application shall be approved by the CAO until at least five (5) business
days after the notifications have been sent.
8.2. In deciding whether or not to grant an exemption, the CAO shall consider the social or
commercial benefit of the proposed activity to the Town, the views of any residents of the
Town which may be known to the CAO, the proposed hours of operation of the proposed
noise making activity, the impact on residents, and the proposed duration of the subject
activity, the applicant's history of compliance with previous Town direction, and any other
factors the CAO considers relevant;
8.3. In order to be eligible for a permit, parades, street dances, and other community activities
must take place between the hours of 7:00am and 11:00pm;
8.4. Upon reviewing the completed exemption permit application, the CAO may issue an
exemption in the form requested or in a modified form or may refuse to grant any
exemption.
8.5. Any exemption granted shall specify the time period, not in excess of six months, during
which the exemption shall be effective, and the exemption shall be in written form and
shall include such terms and conditions as the CAO deems appropriate;
8.6. An applicant who is granted an exemption to this By-Law by the CAO or Council shall sign
and abide by any written terms and conditions, in such form as is approved by the CAO
from time to time.
8.7. If the CAO determines that a breach of an exemption has taken place the CAO may revoke
the exemption by providing written notice to the contact provided by the applicant.
Town of Trenton By-Law No. 2024-01
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Penalty & Enforcement
9.1. Any Enforcement Officer or Police Officer may enter upon private property for the
purpose of investigation and enforcement of this By-law;
9.2. In a prosecution for a violation of this By-law, evidence that one person, including a Police
Officer or Enforcement Officer, is unreasonably disturbed by a prohibited activity is prima
facie evidence that the peace and tranquility of the Town or any portion of it is
unreasonably disturbed;
9.3. Any Police Officer or Enforcement Officer who believes on reasonable and probable
grounds that there has been a violation of this by-law may issue a Summary Offence
Ticket;
9.4. Notwithstanding any other By-law of the Town, any person who contravenes any provision
of this By-law is punishable on summary conviction by a fine of not less than $200.00 and
not more than $5,000.00, and in default of payment to imprisonment of not more than
thirty (30) days for each offence.
Repeal
10. Any previous Noise Control By-laws and amendments thereto are hereby repealed upon the
effective date of this By-law.