A Montreal concert venue that’s been entangled for several years in a legal battle about noise levels says it’s closing its doors “for the time being.”
La Tulipe, in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal, says it was forced to come to that decision after the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered it to prevent any noise from being heard by residents of the building next door.
The concert venue says it received Monday’s legal judgment with “sadness, disappointment and incomprehension.”
“With this ruling from the Quebec Court of Appeal, the future of culture in Montreal is now at stake – because no venue or performance hall is safe from this,” La Tulipe wrote in a statement.
“It is also the entire ecosystem of the show that suffers, both on the side of the artists and musicians as well as for the event producers, as well as for the employees of La Tulipe. Not to mention the public, those for whom we develop and cherish this venue, who find themselves deprived of a legendary performance venue in their neighborhood and for Montreal as a whole.”
The mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal, Luc Rabouin, called the Court of Appeal’s decision “surprising.”
“This interpretation of our by-law puts all performance halls at risk. I called a borough council meeting on Thursday to amend our by-laws to preserve the performance halls of the Plateau-Mont-Royal,” Rabouin wrote on X.
La Tulipe’s troubles began in 2016 when the new owner of the building next door to the concert venue received 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.
“This situation of constraint that we have been experiencing for eight years now has cost us enormous losses in operating revenues for the venue, legal fees, and all kinds of damages. La Tulipe, a heritage venue built in the early 1900s, is losing its status as a cultural jewel as well as its economic value.”
Last year, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled La Tulipe was required to insulate to common wall between the two buildings.
“We don’t have time to get the work underway since this neighbour is appealing and the ruling came down yesterday,” the venue wrote.
“We must therefore cease our activities at La Tulipe for the time being.”
The venue is asking the City of Montreal and Quebec’s minister of culture and communications, Mathieu Lacombe, “to take a stand and implement measures to rectify the situation.”