Calgary city council voted 9-6 on Tuesday to uphold new noise regulations for upcoming Calgary Stampede music festivals held away from Stampede Park, rejecting an urgent motion from Ward 1 Coun. Kim Tyers that sought to scale back the restrictions.
Coun. Tyers introduced the urgent notice of motion at the beginning of council’s land use public hearing meeting, framing it as a compromise to support both festival venue operators and nearby residents. The motion asked administration to amend the city’s community standards bylaw to allow weeknight concerts during Stampede to end at 1 a.m., rather than midnight, and for “cool-down” periods to extend until 1:30 a.m., instead of 1 a.m. on those nights. It also requested a 2.5 decibel reduction, rather than the five-decibel reduction the city was originally planning.
Council Debate and Vote
“There are real consequences to this issue and we could see potential job losses, serious damage to our reputation as a world class festival and music city, and damage to confidence of people looking to invest in our city,” Tyers said when introducing the motion. “Ultimately, I’d like to have a conversation amongst council as we were largely left out of this conversation. It’s important to show it’s council which makes the big decisions in our city, not administration.”
The motion was defeated 9-6, with Couns. Landon Johnston, Rob Ward, Andre Chabot, Mike Jamieson and Dan McLean voting in Tyers’ support. McLean compared the debate to last council’s discussion on canceling Canada Day fireworks. “This is the Stampede, folks. It’s 10 days (when) everyone goes hard and stays up late. We don’t want to send that message to people that we want to dial this back,” he said.
Background on Noise Regulations
Tyers’ motion came shortly after the city introduced new noise regulations that one festival operator claimed would prevent some Stampede concerts from operating after midnight on weekdays. The changes were prompted by last year’s Cowboys Music Festival, held for the first time at the recently renamed Cowboys Park on the downtown west end, which generated 225 noise complaints to the city, according to Chief Bylaw Officer Ryan Pleckaitis. The festival also triggered hundreds of calls to the Calgary Police Service and complaints of social disorder, including public urination and intoxication.
After attending a townhall with residents from the downtown west end in February to address those concerns, Pleckaitis said the city opted to amend the noise exemption policy for Cowboys Music Festival and other downtown music events during Stampede. “We felt it was reasonable to introduce two changes to help these events continue to operate and strike a balance between supporting these events and mitigating impacts to the surrounding community,” he told council.
Mayor’s Stance
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who voted in favor of upholding the regulations, stated, “If you want to do business in Calgary, respect the people who live next door.” The decision underscores the city’s commitment to balancing festival vibrancy with residential quality of life.
