Noise Control Bylaw Review
Noise can affect your home, your business, and your quality of life. The County of Brant is reviewing the Noise Control Bylaw to ensure it continues to support safe, healthy, and enjoyable communities for all residents while balancing the needs of local businesses, culture, and economic activity.
The background
The County of Brant's Noise Control Bylaw helps manage noise across the community. This includes noise from activities such as construction, events, and everyday property use. As the community grows, new challenges have emerged and residents and businesses have shared concerns about:
- Fairness
- Clarity
- Consistency in enforcement
- Balancing quiet enjoyment withContinue reading
Noise can affect your home, your business, and your quality of life. The County of Brant is reviewing the Noise Control Bylaw to ensure it continues to support safe, healthy, and enjoyable communities for all residents while balancing the needs of local businesses, culture, and economic activity.
The background
The County of Brant's Noise Control Bylaw helps manage noise across the community. This includes noise from activities such as construction, events, and everyday property use. As the community grows, new challenges have emerged and residents and businesses have shared concerns about:
- Fairness
- Clarity
- Consistency in enforcement
- Balancing quiet enjoyment with community activity
Noise Control Bylaw: The more you know!
Start here to learn how noise is currently managed in the County of Brant.
Explore the FAQs and the breakdown of the current Noise Control Bylaw to understand how it works, how it's managed, and how updates may affect your home, business, and daily life.
View the complete Noise Control Bylaw.
What has changed so far
At the March 17, 2026 Administration and Operations Committee meeting, County Council endorsed a new direction for how noise will be regulated, directing staff to move forward with a hybrid model for noise regulation through Report RPT-0110-26.
This approach will use qualitative standards for general noise enforcement which means assessing whether noise is likely to disturb others. It also uses quantitative decibel limits for specific, recurring noise issues such as live music and residential air conditioners.
This model is intended to improve fairness, increase consistency, and support clearer enforcement while recognizing the diverse needs of our growing community.
Stay informed
Subscribe for updates by adding your email to the Stay Informed box on this page and click ‘Subscribe'.
-
What we heard and what's next
Thank you to everyone who participated in the County of Brant's Noise Control Bylaw Review. From May 1 to 31, 2026, residents and business owners shared their experiences, concerns, and ideas to help inform potential updates to the Noise Control Bylaw. A total of 234 survey responses were received, along with feedback through quick polls and online questions and comments.
To help raise awareness and encourage participation, we promoted the project through local newspaper ads, social media ads and posts, email updates to Engage Brant and Brant News subscribers, posters in County facilities, and a dedicated project page on EngageContinue reading
Thank you to everyone who participated in the County of Brant's Noise Control Bylaw Review. From May 1 to 31, 2026, residents and business owners shared their experiences, concerns, and ideas to help inform potential updates to the Noise Control Bylaw. A total of 234 survey responses were received, along with feedback through quick polls and online questions and comments.
To help raise awareness and encourage participation, we promoted the project through local newspaper ads, social media ads and posts, email updates to Engage Brant and Brant News subscribers, posters in County facilities, and a dedicated project page on Engage Brant. Educational resources, including frequently asked questions and a plain language explanation of the current bylaw were also available.
Overall, participants were looking for a balanced approach to noise management. While most people recognized that some noise is a normal part of community life, they also wanted protection from unreasonable and regularly recurring disturbances. Residents, business owners, and those who identified as both generally agreed that any future bylaw changes should be clear, practical, fair, and consistently enforced.
The following key themes were identified:
- Support for a balanced approach that considers both community enjoyment and quality of life.
- Support for festivals, fairs, live music, and community events, while also recognizing the need to manage impacts on nearby residents.
- Ongoing concerns about recurring noise such as barking dogs, loud music, vehicle noise, fireworks, and construction activity.
- A desire for clearer enforcement processes, improved communication, and confidence that the bylaw can be applied consistently.
- Recognition that rural and urban areas experience noise differently and that context should be considered when evaluating complaints.
View the full engagement summary as well as the survey responses reports in the documents section of this page.
The feedback received through this engagement, along with technical, legal, and operational considerations, will help inform future recommendations to Council regarding potential updates to the County's Noise Control Bylaw.
Next Steps
Staff have reviewed the engagement results and are working with a specialized consultant to develop the proposed bylaw. Community feedback, together with technical expertise, legislative requirements, operational considerations, and industry best practices, will help ensure the updated bylaw is practical, enforceable, and aligned with current standards.
A summary of the engagement results will be presented to the Administration and Operations Committee on July 21, 2026 at 9:00 am. These committee meetings are open to the public and can also be viewed live online or watched at a later date by visiting brant.ca/Live.
The proposed Noise Control Bylaw is expected to be presented to Committee and Council for consideration later this year.
-
Share your thoughts about the Noise Control Bylaw
Share your thoughts
We invite you to participate in the Noise Control Bylaw Review by learning more about the current bylaw and sharing your thoughts through our survey, quick polls, and questions and comments tool.
Your feedback will help inform updates to the bylaw, including how noise is defined, measured, and managed.
Take the survey
- Online: Please take a few minutes to complete the Noise Control Bylaw Review Survey. Survey closes Sunday, May 31 at 4:30 pm.
- In print: Prefer a printed survey? Stop by the main County of Brant Customer Service locations to pick up a copy.
- OverContinue reading
Share your thoughts
We invite you to participate in the Noise Control Bylaw Review by learning more about the current bylaw and sharing your thoughts through our survey, quick polls, and questions and comments tool.
Your feedback will help inform updates to the bylaw, including how noise is defined, measured, and managed.
Take the survey
- Online: Please take a few minutes to complete the Noise Control Bylaw Review Survey. Survey closes Sunday, May 31 at 4:30 pm.
- In print: Prefer a printed survey? Stop by the main County of Brant Customer Service locations to pick up a copy.
- Over the phone: You can also complete the survey over the phone by calling 519.44BRANT (519.442.7268) or 1.855.44BRANT (1.855.442.7268).
Quick poll
Take our quick polls to tell us how familiar you are with the County’s current Noise Bylaw and let us know if you've ever reported a noise concern - Don't worry, your responses are anonymous. Polls close Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 4:30 pm.
Questions?
Have questions or comments about the current Noise Control Bylaw? Let us know!
Engagement closes Sunday, May 31, 2026.
Follow Project
Documents
-
Noise Control Bylaw Review Engagement Summary (442 KB) (pdf)
-
Resident Survey Responses (269 KB) (pdf)
-
Resident Business Owner Survey Reponses (1.39 MB) (pdf)
-
Business Owner Survey Responses (143 KB) (pdf)
-
A quick look at the current Noise Control Bylaw (81 KB) (pdf)
-
Media release - County of Brant Launches Noise Control Bylaw Review and invites public input (208 KB) (pdf)
Who's Listening
-
Phone 519-44BRANT (519-442-7268) -
Phone 519-44BRANT (519-442-7268)