Fireworks at Eagles Nest Golf Club have Vaughan neighbours fuming
'It's so loud. We hear them as if they're in our own backyard:' resident

YorkRegion.com and TheStar.com
Dec. 29, 2017
Tim Kelly

Neighbours near Eagles Nest Golf Club are fired up over the fireworks displays they say are consistently disturbing the peace and enjoyment of their weekend evenings.

And they’re taking their concerns, along with a growing petition of over 250 names to Vaughan council later this month in a bid to have the plug pulled on the fireworks.

“It’s so loud. We hear them as if they’re in our own backyard,” said mom Mandy Wagner, who has a six-year-old daughter she said is awakened by the booming noises made by the fireworks.

When they went off the weekend of Dec. 23, she said she was surprised.

“This is so ridiculous,” said Wagner, who lives in the Bathurst Street-Rutherford Road area.

For Daniel Granat, who is leading the fight to have the fireworks snuffed out, the fireworks which are usually part of a wedding package couples can purchase, are “obnoxious loud. If you didn’t know it was Eagles Nest fireworks you would think it was someone shooting something.”

He said the fireworks have been happening for years now and that area residents are fed up.

“One woman told me her newborn can’t sleep when they go off,” he said.

Despite the complaints, Sean Morris, owner of Firemaster Productions, one of the main suppliers for fireworks displays at Eagles Nest, said his company has tried to be a good neighbour.

He said about three years ago, citizens approached the city to have the bylaw changed and that the former curfew of 11 p.m. was moved back to 10 p.m. Morris said Firemaster has never exceeded the 10 p.m. curfew.

Morris also said Firemaster voluntarily made changes to the fireworks displays, eliminating the “salute, which a loud bang and brought down the size of the show, which helps with any light or sound pollution.”

He said the displays “only last for five minutes – I am sure there are thunderstorms that can go on for hours.”

Even though there was a Dec. 23 event, Morris claims there are just eight to 10 displays at Eagles Nest a year, at odds with a claim by Granat that there are many more.

“We very much understand people’s concerns … we will work with any group … as a small-business owner this is what we do to put food on the table and we are doing everything we can not to lose a good business,” said Morris.

He said his company has to get a permit through the fire department for every fireworks display it produces in Vaughan.

“The major complaints are coming from Eagles Nest because of the proximity to the homes,” Morris concedes.

Ward 4 Coun. Sandra Yeung Racco said there is little council can do until it hears from Granat.

“Council will listen to his deputation and will ask staff to investigate, consider different options and come back with some possible solutions for council to consider,” Yeung Racco said.

Granat, who wants the city to stop issuing permits for fireworks displays at Eagles Nest, will be taking his deputation to Vaughan’s committee of the whole Jan. 23.