Evenko victorious in St-Lambert noise complaint case
Music promoter behind Heavy Montreal, Osheaga and other fests has the right to pump up the volume, court rules
St-Lambert residents will have to put up with a few loud weekends this summer, after a judge ruled that Evenko was well within the law in holding festivals at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
In a decision rendered in court on Friday, a judge said that while residents of St-Lambert surely were exposed to loud noises, the sounds emanating from the festival site on Île-Ste-Hélène don't break the 80-decibel noise limit.
St-Lambert submitted the affidavits of 16 people who complained the noise was too loud, even though the noise levels were measured at 20 decibels below the limit.
The plaintiff also requested the noise limit be reduced to 60 decibels.
Evenko typically hosts three festivals each summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau: Osheaga, Heavy Montreal and Île Soniq, an electronic music festival. According to Caroline Audet of Evenko, last year nearly 250,000 in total attended those festivals.
Evenko would not comment on the court judgment.
However, the judgment said the promoter would have been out $24.5 million if it had to cancel its three festivals and Full Flex Express, a show organized by electronic DJ Skrillex taking place July 10.
Considering St-Lambert's three proposals were essentially the same thing worded three different ways, the judge said the city was not being flexible enough in its demands. The judge also wrote that, if it came down to weighing inconveniences, Evenko would be far more inconvenienced than the residents of St-Lambert.
Here is the schedule of Evenko's events at Parc Jean-Drapeau:
- July 10: Full Flex Express
- July 31, Aug. 1–2: Osheaga
- Aug. 7–9: Heavy Montreal
- Aug 14–15: Île Soniq