The latest revisions to Wellesley’s proposed new noise bylaw was a much quieter affair Tuesday night, without the at-times heated discussions earlier in the process.

The current draft of the bylaw differs somewhat from the initial version unveiled in April, recognizing the input of  about 150 people who responded to the township’s survey and emailed their comments.

Councillors were mostly approving of the revisions to the new bylaw, but have asked for another minor change to be made before they formally give it their seal of approval – most likely two weeks from now at the next council meeting.

“I think it’s a good bylaw and I think that residents should be happy with it,” said Coun. Peter van der Maas, noting the initial concerns raised by Wellesley residents have largely been addressed.

“I think people were satisfied that we’ve listened to their concerns,” he said. “But we did get some very constructive comments from several residents that helped make it a little more focused.”

The changes in the latest draft of the proposed bylaw generally have the effect of softening the restrictions laid out and clarifying confusing language.

A new section was added to clarify that the new bylaw won’t be enforced against “normal social and economic activities, including noise associated with spontaneous events such as celebrations, weddings, church bells, etc.”

The list of exemptions have been widened so all sports and recreation activities at public parks would be exempt from noise complaints, as opposed to only those with a special event permit as was previously the case.

Noises from “normal economic activities” and agricultural practices are specifically exempt from noise restrictions now; while the proscription on discharging firearms was revised to apply only to the township’s settlement areas.

The after-hours prohibition against disruptive yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling and singing has now been clarified to be a concern only when “persistent or repetitive.”

The seeming ban on loud music and amplification devices has been updated from being prohibited at all times to the period from 11 p.m. at night to 7 a.m. in the morning everyday (9 a.m. on Sundays).

Mayor Joe Nowak noted that, far from being “oppressive,” the township had significantly changed the way it enforced its bylaws to be more conciliatory.

“When we first came into office here, we had a full-time bylaw enforcement officer. And that bylaw enforcement officer was told to be proactive. To, virtually, go out and look for problems. Maybe that’s being a little bit unfair, but really that’s what he was doing,” said Nowak.

“This council changed that.”

The system used now is more “reactive,” said Nowak, where bylaws are only enforced when a complaint is raised. In the case of the noise bylaws, someone has to first complain about the noise before the bylaw comes into effect. Once the complaint is made, the bylaw becomes the reference for whether the complaint ought to be enforced.

“So it’s not that we’re being overly oppressive when it comes to having a good time in Wellesley Township,” said Nowak.

If the new bylaw is approved by councillors, it would still need to have a legal review before it could be made official. Once that happens, it would replace the current, much less robust noise bylaw, which was adopted by the township in 2008.