Plateau-Mont-Royal’s proposed noise bylaw overhaul aims to please borough residents, music venues alike

Plateau-Mont-Royal is rewriting the rules on nightlife noise.

A proposed new noise bylaw in the Montreal borough aims to strike a balance between protecting citizens’ peace and preserving the nightlife scene, while minimizing the role of police in enforcement and complaints.

The borough announced Thursday the new draft bylaw will be presented Monday, at which point it could be adopted May 4.

“This nightlife is currently governed by a noise bylaw dating back to 1977, which no longer reflects the realities of our 105,000 residents and our 51 performance venues,” said borough mayor Cathy Wong.

The major overhaul of the Plateau’s noise bylaw follows months consultation, in large part triggered by the September 2024 closure of La Tulipe, a historic Montreal concert venue, due to legal battles over noise complaints. Another Plateau music venue, Blue Dog, closed in July 2025 due in part to pressure caused by noise complaints.

The new bylaw will see Montreal police take a more limited role overall, with the borough itself being responsible for enforcing noise rules at performance venues, and for handling complaints related to the venues. The borough would also establish mediation resources for both the complainants and venues.

“If you take away the immediate threat of a fine and you give the venue time to address the acoustic problem without giving them, in the case of Divan orange, a series of hefty fines, solves the problem,” said Jon Weisz, the general manager of the Scènes de Musique Alternatives du Québec (SMAQ).

The bylaw will also include a one-year pilot project to test noise thresholds based on something called spectral emergence: a new way of measuring how much a venue’s sound stands out from the usual background noise in the neighbourhood.

“This is an important step forward in preventing the closure of cultural venues due to excessive noise complaints — a major issue in Montreal for several years,” said Marc St. Laurent, chair of the board of directors for the SMAQ.

The SMAQ hopes other boroughs will do the same.

“We encourage other boroughs, particularly Ville-Marie, to follow suit and quickly begin updating their own bylaws,” said the group’s executive director Jon Weisz. “This is a key opportunity to rebuild trust between independent culture and the City of Montreal.”

MTL 24/24, a non-profit that advocates for Montreal’s nightlife, called the bylaw a major step towards coexistence.

“Plateau-Mont-Royal is home to many of Montreal’s most iconic venues, but it has also been the epicentre of noise-related neighbourhood conflicts that have led to numerous closures. The new bylaw is a welcome step toward a more proactive, modern, and balanced framework,” said Martin Chartrand, the group’s general director.

“I think it’s a win-win. Maybe even a win-win-win, if you wanna include residents, the police, and also venues,” added MTL 24/24’s communications officer Max Honigmann.

The borough says the new bylaw will focus on “prevention, mediation, and collaboration” rather than punishment.

It says a redesigned complaint system will allow residents to file reports at any time via 311 or online, with peak-hour complaints from 9 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. being fast-tracked.

“People have to accept that they’re near bars, that they’re on Plateau-Mont-Royal, and they have to co-exist,” said Montrealer Jean-Guy Cyaa.

“If you own an apartment on Saint-Laurent, there’s no point in complaining,” added Nathan Guerrette.

In addition, a pilot project — from June 12 to Oct. 31 — will see a team of “Veilleurs” assess complaints in real time while working alongside the Société de développement du boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL). Managed by the borough and made up of police students, the teams will act as first responders for noise concerns linked to nightlife venues. It will be deployed during peak hours Thursday through Saturday.

“Waiting lines outside the bar, people smoking, people that are going out back home at 3 a.m. Those are the type of situations where the ‘Veilleurs’ will be able to bring some solutions,” Mayor Wong said.

“I think it’s good for neighbourhoods to have people that actually really know that area,” added Honigmann. “So they pay off, they know the sector very well, they know the businesses, they even know a lot of the residents.”

The Plateau’s noise regulations were in the spotlight in fall 2024 when La Tulipe announced it was closing its doors after being entangled for several years in a legal battle about noise levels.

La Tulipe’s troubles began in 2016 when the new owner of the building next door to the concert venue obtained a renovation permit to transform a commercial space into a residential space. The municipality admitted that was a mistake.

What followed was a series of complaints, injunctions and lawsuits from the building’s new owner.

In 2023, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled La Tulipe was required to insulate to common wall between the two buildings. The following year, the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered it to prevent any noise from being heard by residents of the building next door — prompting the venue’s closure.

Last November, a judged ruled La Tulipe could reopen since the municipal bylaw that forced the injunction had been amended. The owners of the venue have been appealing to multiple levels of government for support to ensure the venue can reopen and reclaim its place in Montreal’s cultural landscape.