Bashing out a noise clause

The sound of a nearby industrial park aren’t the only noise issues in the south end of Breslau, so warnings to new tenants and property owners should include the whole gamut, suggests Woolwich Coun. Mark Bauman.

Meeting this week, council deferred a new bylaw that would add a warning clause as a condition of approving a 78-unit apartment building on land owned by Breslau Mennonite Church. The township will now look at whether all the noise warnings can be rolled into one clause or whether there are already existing provisions covering noise from the Region of Waterloo International Airport. Similar warnings are required on the titles of homes sold in the nearby Riverland subdivision, for instance.

While councillors approved the warning clause, its formal implementation will await further investigation by planning staff.

As approved, the township requires the following noise warning clause in all agreements of purchase and sale, lease and/or rental agreements for all residential dwelling units related to the project: “Purchasers/tenants are advised that due to the proximity of industrial activity in the industrial area to the southeast, sound levels from these facilities may at times be audible and the industrial operations may change in the future.”

A final noise clause will likely be hammered out next month, and is needed in order for the project at 208 - 226 Woolwich St. S., which will offer two- and three-bedroom rental units, to proceed.

The church received approval in June for a zone change to allow the construction of the building on the rear portion of their property. About a third of the 8.2-acre property would be earmarked for the housing project, then sold to a developer, Reid’s Heritage Properties.