If you asked comedian Joe Pillitteri what he thinks about proposed changes to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s noise bylaw, he’d probably tell you they're more comedic than he is.

Tuesday evening Pillitteri started a Change.org petition (www.change.org/p/niagara-on-the-lake-town-council-staff-save-the-community-and-business-spirit-of-niagara-on-the-lake) against the noise bylaw and had already garnered more than 500 signatures by 9 p.m. By the afternoon Wednesday it was up to 1,200 signatures.

The page includes a video of Pillitteri and a list of reasons why he thinks the proposed bylaw should be rejected as it stands.

“A draft bylaw in Niagara-on-the-Lake is threatening to destroy the essence of our incredible town and jeopardize our quality of life. We demand that these proposed revisions be rejected,” the petition reads.

It says the draft bylaw, which would prevent any music exceeding a sound level of 55 dB(A) from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., would affect residents' quality of life and hurt businesses.

“To add perspective, 55 dB(A) is less than the sound level of a normal conversation,” the petition says.

“These proposed revisions would reduce our quality of life by controlling the way we enjoy our homes, restricting how we celebrate special occasions with family and friends, limiting recreational and cultural arts activities, eliminating outdoor concerts and live music on patios, and by diminishing the quality of our community events.”

It goes on to say that “there is a risk to our economy when our local restaurants, breweries, wineries and event facilities will be restricted to the events they can host.”

“Our extremely talented local musicians will be forced to look elsewhere for work as this will limit the number of available gigs for them.”

Pillitteri also points out that wineries and restaurants in NOTL have helped to raise over $500,000 for various charitable foundations, including the Terry Fox Foundation, Niagara Community Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, NOTL minor sports, Red Roof Retreat, Kidsport Niagara, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Rotary Club, and various other community initiatives.