Saint-Lambert wins latest round in concert noise legal battle with Montreal
Quebec Court of Appeal denies move to stop Saint-Lambert's permanent injunction request on noise levels
A ruling from the Quebec Court of Appeal Thursday means the legal battle between the City of Saint-Lambert and the City of Montreal over concert noise will continue.
For years, Saint-Lambert has maintained that noise from summer music festivals at Parc Jean-Drapeau, including Osheaga and Heavy MTL, has created undue hardships for people in the South Shore town.
- St-Lambert pushing forward with festival noise legal fight
- Osheaga hopes better sound quality will cut noise pollution
- Montreal's South Shore residents fed up with noise at Parc Jean-Drapeau
Residents have complained the noise rattles windows, shakes houses and disrupts peaceful summer evenings.
Noise levels of 108 decibels (dB) have been recorded at the concert site and a level of 68 dB was recorded at one residence in Saint-Lambert.
The City of Montreal and concert promoter Evenko have maintained the noise is reasonable.
The two sides have been trading legal maneouvres over the last few years.
Battle over permanent injunction request
Saint-Lambert's latest gambit has been to request a permanent injunction that would force Montreal and Evenko to restrict the noise level to 95 dB at Parc Jean-Drapeau and ensure it does not surpass 60 dB in residential areas of Saint-Lambert.
The World Health Organization considers noise above 55 dB to be "disturbing to sleep."
In January a Superior Court judge ruled Saint-Lambert could proceed with that request.
The City of Montreal and Evenko appealed that decision, but that appeal was denied on Thursday.
Despite the victory, the City of Saint-Lambert has a long legal battle ahead — the request for a permanent injunction likely won't be heard before the fall.
Negotiated solution?
Saint-Lambert Mayor Alain Dépatie said he hopes another noisy summer can be avoided by a negotiated solution with the City of Montreal and Evenko.
He said a meeting with Evenko is planned for April 22 and Dépatie wants City of Montreal officials to join the talks.
"I hope now that we won this thing Montreal is going to come to the table and discuss with us," he said.
"The ball is in their [court], and they can call us. I'm always open," he said.
with files from Thomas Gerbet, Radio-Canada