Highlands East resident, Ann Speers, said the township’s noise bylaw is “worthless” if it cannot be enforced “in a particularly egregious circumstance” – in this case, a fourday rave she and neighbours experienced in August.
Speers made a delegation to council’s Oct. 10 meeting, along with another resident, Monique Colliver.
Speers said Phantomfest was held Aug. 25-28 on private land in the Tryfan Forest, off of Tamarack Lake Road, Gooderham.
According to the Phantomfest website, it was a camping, music and arts festival, “filled with uninterrupted soul-satisfying entertainment… a playground for grown-ups. Create. Gyrate. Vibrate. Trust us, we know fun things.”
Four-day passes started at $175-plus. They also charged for transportation, glamping and parking.
The actual location was not divulged until the week of the event, with the website saying it was being held 2.5 hours north east of Toronto on 800 acres of forested land with access to a private lake.
Speers said residents knew the location once they began to hear the music thumping.
This event featured amplified club techno music by several dozen named artists and DJs and it was indeed uninterrupted,” Speers said. “The music that was audible was primarily loud concussive beats, not instrumental or vocal as far as could be discerned at distance.”
She first heard it the afternoon of Aug. 26. She said she went to the lake the morning of Aug. 27 to capture video and audio. A Facebook thread circulated asking if anyone knew about a music festival. She said people reported hearing music two kilometres away, lost sleep, pets were agitated and wildlife disappeared. She said people were outraged and wondered if the operators had gotten a permit. She even visited the site the Sunday afternoon.
Speers said she contacted the township but “bylaw enforcement was understandably unavailable at the weekend. And the municipal website indicates the OPP are responsible for bylaw enforcement when the municipality cannot act.”
She said she called OPP, which told her if the music was still playing after 11 p.m. to contact them again. She did and said she received an incident number at 1:30 a.m. Following up on Monday morning, she said OPP told her the event organizers had a permit and their hands were tied. She filed a Freedom of Information request with the township and said she was advised there was no municipal permit issued for the event.
Speers said the event continued well into Monday night.
She added other issues included: the volume of cars blocking access to private camps; it would have blocked emergency services and there was a risk of fire.
Speers told council, “This cannot happen again… this is an important issue. This is the most egregious example of a noise bylaw violation that I can imagine.” She called for action against the property owner and event organizers. She further called on the township to do something regarding camping at the site.
Colliver said private campsites had been operating for a few years and “that’s always been a concern of everybody around here.” She said they worry about forest fires.
Council received the delegation for information only, which prompted Spears to ask, “any indication when we may hear from council on this matter?”
Mayor Dave Burton said, “at this time, probably no but we’re certainly going to be looking into it.” He added they are hoping to “beef up” bylaw enforcement to have staff available on weekends.
Speers asked if bylaw is not available, what is the plan with OPP. Burton said he had been in contact with OPP about the incident and believes they are still looking into it.
“I hope that your communication with your constituents will be more proactive and transparent in future. I plan to follow this up,” Speers said.
The Haliburton Highlands OPP said on Oct. 17 that OPP received complaints in relation to the event and is working with Highlands East to address concerns. “The municipal bylaws are enforced by the municipality. OPP’s role is to ensure public safety, the protection of property and manage traffic. Public safety remains paramount to the OPP,” they said.
The Highlander attempted to contact the land owner and Phantomfest but neither had replied as of press time Oct. 25.
