Coquitlam won't be banning Sunday construction anytime soon.
But the city plans to tighten up the hours that contractors, builders and renovators can make noise on commercial and non-commercial job sites on what is typically considered a day of rest.
At Monday's council-in-committee meeting, councillors unanimously backed a motion by Coun. Brent Asmundson to limit building noise on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. City council is expected to vote on the proposal later this month.
The move comes after Asmundson complained last fall about the level of noise on a Sunday at a neighbour's home on Burke Mountain, an area that is growing rapidly.
And with committee's permission, he asked city staff to look at what's happening with Sunday construction noise bylaws in other Lower Mainland municipalities.
Currently, Coquitlam restricts Sunday construction noise levels from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. while Port Coquitlam has no time limitations - only requesting that builders be "non-disruptive."
To the west, in Port Moody and New Westminster, Sunday commercial construction needs to be quiet while building noise levels at homes have to be between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
In their report to the committee on Monday, city managers said noise complaints are generally few. Since 2011, Coquitlam city hall has logged 188 complaints about construction noise - half of them about building noise on Sundays. A total of 13 tickets have been issued during that time period, seven of them related to construction noise on Sundays.
City staff recommended that council not ban Sunday construction outright as it would have an affect on tradespeople.
"There are times when a builders' contractual commitments require work to occur seven days a week to meet a deadline," the report states.
Still, Asmundson said changing Sunday noise hours to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. will give neighbours some peace and quiet in the early mornings and late evenings.
