Innisfil builder promises to get tough on noise violations

By Rick Vanderlinde Innisfil Journal

Gary Breda made the pledge Friday after learning his company received a tongue-lashing from council Wednesday for allowing workers to disturb existing residents after hours.

“I will knuckle down on them. The buck stops with me on that,” Breda told the Journal. “I’m not authorizing them to do it. Sub-contractors are sneaking in. I’ll do everything in my power. It’s not our intention to be breaking the rules.”

Breda said he would consider hiring a security guard to ensure subcontractors working in the Forest Edge development near Adullam Avenue and Lebanon Drive follow the rules.

Mayor Gord Wauchope publicly chastised the Woodbridge-based builder after hearing about construction on Saturdays, stat holidays and at night.

“There’s always one bad apple. I want to see this addressed immediately,” Wauchope said during last week’s council meeting. “We have to get the word out that we are not going to put up with this anymore. ”

Wauchope requested a face-to-face meeting with the builder to lay down the law.

Coun. Stan Daurio said he has heard several complaints about Bremont’s after-hours construction.

“This is a builder who violates the rules with impunity without any concern whatsoever of being caught,” he said.

Daurio suggested Bremont start the town’s new Saturday construction pilot project with “two strikes” against it.

Under the policy passed last Wednesday, builders can work on Saturdays but they will receive a strike if they are caught working outside of town-approved hours. After two strikes, the builder loses Saturday construction privileges for four consecutive Saturdays. After three strikes, a builder can no longer work on Saturdays.

Council allowed Bremont to start with a clean slate along with all other builders working in Innisfil.

At least two residents — Diane Sykes and Deb McGrath — will be keeping a watchful eye on Bremont.

Both women used council’s open forum last Wednesday to complain about the builders tactics.

“There’s a complete lack of respect. Trucks go in and out at all hours of the night,” Sykes told council. “They work at least 60 hours a week. They were working on Good Friday.”

McGrath said construction workers have “repeatedy violated the noise bylaw”.

“I hear heavy equipment at all hours of the night,” she said. “This is clearly a breech of trust by the developer.”

Meanwhile, Breda said he hopes to have the Alcona project completed by September, including grading and sod.

“I would be annoyed too if I had to hear all the noise,” he said. “But if we work Saturdays we can get out quicker. If there’s no noise, no work gets done.”

In 2012, Simcoe County fined Bremont $300 for cutting mature trees at the Alcona site. The county had the option of taking the builder to court with the potential for a maximum fine of $50,000 under Simcoe’s tree preservation bylaw. But the county can also use the set $300 fine depending on the severity of the situation.