Sounds of summer disturb Pickering neighbour

Neighbour disturbed by splashing in the pool, but do kids have a right to be kids?

Thestar.com
Aug. 6, 2015
By Ethan Lou

The sound of kids splashing in their backyard pool is making the wrong kind of waves in Pickering.

But it turns out the sounds of childhood fun aren't music to everyone's ears, after a neighbour made noise complaint to the bylaw officer.

It's a classic clash as tots and teens spill outside in the summer sun. Yes, residents have a right to enjoy their property undisturbed by the neighbours. But study after study has shown physical activity is essential to a child's healthy development.

The young subjects of the noise dispute, ages 7, 9 and 11, start their days with daycare, which ends at 4 p.m., and then go for sports at 6 p.m. Sometimes, during the two hours they’re off, they take a dip in the pool, doing what children do.

Their mother, Danielle Honsberger, is active in the community, organizing many events for local children including a sports camp this summer.

“I am a huge supporter of getting our children moving,” she said.

Research backs up her view. Playing outside provides many socialization benefits, says Chris Markham, executive director of the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association. He adds that a lack of exercise has significant consequences for children.

“They may very well have less interpersonal skills, they may well have less community connections, they may have less socialization,” he said.

Even without invoking bylaws to curb kids’ fun, Canadian children are already falling behind in that regard, according to a recent study by a non-profit agency that promotes active living. ParticipACTION has assigned children a D-minus.

Markham said children should be encouraged to be physically active from an early age, as they are likely to continue living an active lifestyle.

“Pretty much, when the kids are able to walk, they should be encouraged to be as physically active as possible,” Markham said.

Unfortunately for Honsberger’s children, they incurred the wrath of an unnamed neighbour and the city’s 7-year-old bylaw.

It began on the first day of summer, when a city worker knocked on Honsberger’s door to notify her of the complaint. A month later, she received another one, this time a formal, written notice, telling Honsberger that “legal action” might be coming.

The bylaw bans “persistent yelling, hooting, shouting, whistling or singing” that can be heard from inside another’s residence or business after 9 p.m. It carries a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine.

Honsberger is confident the complainant does not have a case if the issue escalates to court - her children do not swim after 9 p.m., she said..

Pickering bylaw enforcement services manager Kim Thompson said her office deals with mostly construction and loud music noise complaints, usually about two to three a year.

“When you’re in your house and you have all your windows and doors closed, you shouldn’t hear someone else’s noise,” she said.

Thompson added that the notice Honsberger received was not a citation in itself and that legal action - going before a justice of the peace - can be easily avoided.

“The complainant would report back as to whether this is still an ongoing issue,” she said, adding that the best outcome would be that the parties resolve the issue among themselves.