Some neighbours of The Summit long-term care home in Victoria say the installation of a sound reduction system by the Capital Regional District in July has done little to quell the high-pitched hum of the care home’s chiller unit.
It’s an issue the Hillside-Quadra residents say they’ve been enduring daily since The Summit building was first occupied in summer 2020. Last January, they finally convinced the Capital Regional Hospital District board to fund a $22,000-plus sound reduction system.
In late-July, the CRD installed the system in an act that all parties hoped would fix the problem. But, in an internal survey of the 65-household Stop the Summit Noise Citizen’s Group later in the summer, the group says the majority of respondents said the hum had hardly changed.
“It has made zero difference” and “I’m waiting for the difference” are some of the comments posted to the group’s Facebook page.
The chiller always makes some noise, but it’s when temperatures rise above 18 C that it really gets going, according to neighbours. So, the end of warm summer weather is a relief for the bothered residents. But, knowing the nuisance will kick back in come spring, they’re taking proactive steps now to re-approach the CRD and ask that something else be done.
READ ALSO: Victoria neighbours call for an end to ‘high-pitched hum’ from Summit building
Hillside-Quadra resident Byron Plant says quite a few people will be requesting to speak at an Oct. 6 Capital Regional Hospital District board meeting. A staff report set to be presented at the meeting says the chiller is operating as quietly and efficiently as possible. Testing from August shows it producing noise levels slightly below bylaw limits.
Plant says that isn’t enough for people who have to live with the hum every day, though. He says there’s been some talk among neighbours of organizing a protest.
“People here are pretty angry about events to date and the CRHD’s response,” Plant wrote in an email. He says he and his wife never would have bought their home in the neighbourhood if they had known the noise that was to come.
READ ALSO: Work to resolve The Summit hum in Victoria continues through winter
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