What on earth is all the noise about at the Flin Flon trailer court?
That question has many residents scratching their heads as different factions of the mobile-home neighbourhood argue for and against noise-containment
measures.
It all started in late 2013 and early 2014 when city council initially approved, then backed away from, a bylaw that would have banned off-road vehicles at the trailer court from idling for too long or too close to homes.
Strangely, the trailer court produced two duelling petitions on the matter. In the end, council agreed with those who felt that off-road vehicles weren’t really a concern.
End of the story? Not quite.
Last month council voted to outlaw incessant manmade noise at the trailer court, be it from off-road vehicles or other sources, only to delay a final decision after opposition surfaced.
A resolution to this curious stalemate was to be reached as early as last night’s council meeting, held after The Reminder went to press.
Arguing against noise bylaws may seem counterintuitive. Even if noise isn’t a problem at the moment – at the trailer court, some say it is and some say it isn’t – what’s the harm in being
proactive?
The problem, opponents counter, is that only a small minority of trailer court residents believe there is a noise issue and that any law will be impractical to enforce and take away from the city’s resources.
It’s true that bylaws are notoriously difficult to enforce. And yes, they can cost money, though Flin Flon is already paying for bylaw enforcement via contract.
Still, if even a small number of our fellow citizens believe their quality of life is suffering due to noise, a bylaw is worth the trouble.
If there is no problem, then Flin Flon’s bylaw enforcement officer won’t be worse for wear. But if there is a problem, the city gains a new tool for resolution – now and into the future.
