Calgary’s Event Centre construction timelines expedited a request to change a noise bylaw for the area, all but eliminating public consultation on the topic, a city committee heard.

A proposed amendment to the City of Calgary’s Community Standards bylaw that came to the July 24 Community Development Committee, would allow a maximum level of 64 decibels at a residential point of reception up until 11:59 p.m.

Currently under the bylaw, no more than 50 decibels are allowed and only up to 10 p.m.

City administration said that the loudest likely point of reception would be on an outdoor balcony of a south-facing unit of a mixed-use tower planned for the north side of 12 Avenue SE, roughly 40 metres from the new Event Centre, Scotia Place.

“When a concert in the Event Centre produces the maximum amount of sound allowed in the proposed amendment, an observer on this balcony would experience noise levels similar to being in a busy restaurant, which could continue as late as 11:59 p.m.,” read the city admin report on the bylaw.

“The level would be similar to the daytime noise limit. The sound level experienced inside the unit would be lower.”

The City anticipated that between five and 10 concerts annually would meet this threshold, based on having 55 concerts a year in the new building.

Serene Yew, president of the Arriva tower condo board, a building that is kitty corner from the planned location of Scotia Place, attended the public hearing portion of the meeting and expressed her frustration with the lack of any engagement on the proposed amendment.

“At this time, without any consultation, we can neither support this bylaw change, nor can we say that it is the wrong decision for the community,” Yew told councillors.

“We just don’t know, because we haven’t been given the opportunity to know.”

Unlike planning matters, there is no legal requirement to have public engagement on changes to this type of civic matter, according to the city. Their admin report checked the box that indicated public/interested parties were informed. Yew said they received notification last week.

Yew also said they’ve worked successfully on many occasions with the Calgary Stampede, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the Green Line team on previous issues around noise, traffic and construction in the area.

“This change comes as quite a surprise, as there was, in effect, no community engagement and no consultation that a change was even going to be put forth before Council,” Yew said.

Yew was also concerned by the sound level increase, as a 10-decibel increase is the equivalent of a 10-fold increase in sound pressure and increases exponentially.

Timeline, budget for Event Centre had to be met

James McLaughlin with the Event Centre delivery team said that this item came up quickly through the development process of the project. They were exploring what they needed to do to comply with bylaws, constructions requirements and building codes. Calgary broke ground on the Event Centre project earlier this week.

A sound analysis done on the original project had to be validated for the new design, McLaughlin said.

“Which we did, we discovered that the big, strong parallels between the work that was done earlier, the work that was going to be now done now in terms of construction, assembly for the roof,” he said.

After tests done up in Edmonton, where the roof construction is similar, the concluded that there would be a roughly 61-decibel sound transmission.

To comply with the existing bylaw, McLaughlin said it would have added up to $8 million in unbudgeted costs to the Event Centre project.

“To put it in perspective, it’s roughly, about 11,000 square feet of building area in terms of what would be comparable, roughly equivalent to an ice sheet, dasher boards, ice plant, in terms of you think about what that buys you on the project,” he said.

“So, it would be a material impact to the overall project delivery on the approved scope, if we had to try and pull that funding from the approved scope.”

McLaughlin explained that they would have to hang large sound dampeners from the ceiling in order to reduce the amount of sound that reverberated from the building. He also said that every week of delay on the project would cost a million dollars in lost opportunity cost for purchasing.

“We have to balance all the different variables in terms of cost impacts on the project as we put it together,” he said.

Placating “millionaires”: Coun. Dhaliwal

Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal took issue with the bypassing of the public on this item.

“So, you just explained it to me: We are doing this to placate a bunch of millionaires because there’s deadlines. Okay, perfect,” he said.

Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, who chairs the Community Development Committee, provided further clarity on Dhaliwal’s statement.

“For clarity, as we’re paying for most of the construction, we are the millionaires, in this case, that need this exemption,” he said.

Speaking with LWC on Tuesday, Coun. Walcott said that it’s going to be a very select few people that will be impacted by the policy long-term. He said he didn’t see the noise being an issue for most people.

“I don’t see it as an issue for those people because of the decisions that they’d be making living in that proximity to the Event Center,” he told LWC.

He said the challenge is in explaining it in relatable terms for people.

“I think the description of it was like if you were standing on your balcony, it would be the similar sounds as, like a refrigerator hum,” Coun. Walcott said.

“So, it’s not silence, definitely not silence, but it’s not obtrusive noise.”

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, who chairs the Event Centre Committee, said that she understands there was a rush to get this done, and limited consultation. That part needed to change, she said.

Coun. Sharp has been a proponent of better public input, pushing hard for it during the debate over citywide rezoning, to the point of wanting to delay the approval of that land use bylaw change for weeks or months to accommodate the views of Calgarians impacted by the decision.

“This was kind of sprung on the design team as well, late in the day. So, it is a miss that maybe more engagement couldn’t have been done. We can’t deny that,” she said.

“But during development process, that building and those folks that live there can comment on the development permit, which can include the sound and so there needs to be future consultation of what’s going on.”

Coun. Sharp was also quick to point out that the Cowboys tent is there with much louder noise that was coming into the area. The Stampede does have an exemption to the bylaw for locations on their grounds during the 10-day event. She also said there would be another opportunity to address noise in the area with a noise bylaw that would cover the entire Culture and Entertainment District.

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said this is one of the costs of living in this type of neighbourhood.

“I’ll chalk this up to life in the big city, and with an abundance of respect for the condo board,” he said.

“There are cuts both ways to live in an incredible neighbourhood, which is what this is going to be.”

Committee recommended the approval of three readings of the bylaw change at the upcoming July 30 full meeting of Calgary city council.