BLOG - Current O'ahu Noise Issues - A Quieter O'ahu - It's Time To Take A Stand Against Noise!

Is My Generator Too Noisy?

10/30/2018

Comment:
I just purchased a portable generator as there is always a power outage whenever we encounter bad weather where I live. I need it to power my sump pump to prevent flooding to my home. The generator will be placed outdoors next to my neighbor's property. The sound level is 68dB. Would I be in compliance with the Honolulu code?

Thank you for your help.

Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
It's very considerate of you to ask. We're not aware of a specific noise code for generators. That said, if your generator is rated at 68dB(a) then it's not really a very noisy generator. 68dB(a) is in the comparable noise ranges of:
-a hair dryer
-a vacuum cleaner
-a dishwasher
Can't imagine that 68dB(a) would be overly loud. That said, please be sure to follow all safety precautions of the manufacturer in operating the generator. Exhaust fumes from generators can be deadly.

Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu

Noise at Queen Kapiolani Hotel

10/30/2018

Comment:
Queen Kapiolani Hotel is operating a scrubber from 6am to 11pm. It’s above a reasonable sound level and incredibly disturbing to all surrounding residences. The scrubber is on top of their newly renovated pool deck area pointed to the Makee ‘Ailana . This is definition of poorly designed operations and engineering and is cheating residents of their well deserved quality of life.

Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
Sorry to hear about your noise problem. The Hawaii Dept of Health has jurisdiction over fixed commercial noises such as this. I believe your best option would be to contact them and describe the problem and ask that they conduct a noise survey of the location to see if the noise exceeds permitted levels. You can find contact information for the Dept of Health on our website at: https://www.quieteroahu.com/reporting-noise-violations.html If you choose to contact them please let us know if this was successful.

Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu

Downtown Hotel Strike - Do They REALLY Have To Be So Noisy??

10/11/2018

Comment (Gist):
Could you please address the noise from the protestors in the lane between the Outrigger beach (Dukes) hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel?

While they have the right to protest, beating drums and using loud hailers is affecting the sleep, and quality of life, of not only visitors, but also of area residents who are not a part of this protest, and who shouldn't be subjected to this noise in order for the union to make their point.

Could you please ask the police to stop the noise ASAP.

Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,

Thanks for your note. We've also heard this from others and have "melded" the complaints into this one entry.

Unfortunately we cannot refer the problem to the police as we do not have "standing" - (we are not affected by the problem, so we cannot report the problem). If you are a Waikiki resident and you believe that you are being adversely affected by this noise, you can contact HPD and issue a complaint. The union that is conducting this strike (Unite Here Local 5) very likely has all the correct paperwork to stage their protest, however, this paperwork usually DOES NOT cover creating a noise nuisance, or violating area noise ordinances. Noise waivers, if issued, are issued by the Department of Health and you can ask HPD to verify that they have such a noise waiver to be creating the loud noise that you have reported. You can also ask for the parameters of the waiver (for how many days, during what hours of the day, etc). If you do choose to contact HPD you can ask to remain anonymous if you desire, and they will not reveal your name.

If you choose to file a complaint, please let us know the result, good or bad. We will post this, and any follow-up you provide, to our Noise Blog (without your name) so that others might learn/benefit from your experience.

We have also reached-out to Unite Here Local 5 to express the concerns that you, and others, have shared about this noise problem. Our note to them is provided below. If you, or others, would also like to contact Unite Here Local 5, here is the link for their "Contact" page.

https://www.unitehere5.org/contact-us/

Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu

- - - - - - - - - - -

Aloha,

We are being contacted by many downtown residents in the area of your protests complaining about the noise that you are creating. As one writer opines: "While they have the right to protest, beating drums and using loud hailers is affecting the quality of life of residents in the area. We're not a part of this, and do not appreciate being bothered by their noise."

I would think this is NOT a good strategy to enjoin the public to your cause.

Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu
www.quieteroahu.com

Construction in Nu'uanu - Is Moving Only Option?

9/5/2018

Comment:
I've been on here before. I just want to say, I am not sure how much longer I can stand living here. The thoughts of moving is getting very close, but it will be hard because Hawaii employers do not give enough pay. Besides the daily leaf blower for the past 5 years of moving to Nuuanu, I have been in a constant panic attack and laden anxiety. I don' t know how you people feel about hearing hammering in the distance EVERY DAY AT 7 AM till 3 PM. I am a stay at home wife who is trying to conceive. But with the constant noise going around me, my husband and I aren't blessed with a little one yet. I do wear "noise canceling" head phones, but they do not block out hammering, saws, and leaf blowers because the distance is soooo close to our house. The worse is the hammering. 2 or 3 hits every 10 seconds. Its like Chinese water torture for me. I feel so sad that Nuuanu is becoming into another Kailua or Kapolei with the reconstructing of houses for multiple families. Must be nice to have so much money to buy a house and land for 1.3 million dollars. This isn't paradise anymore.

Quieter O'ahu Response:
We understand your position completely. And it is not just Nu'uanu, but everywhere across O'ahu. We are seeing unprecedented commercial and residential growth and the accompanying noise is the price communities are forced to pay. Here is a link to the current O'ahu Noise Reference Manual. Perhaps there is a section on commercial activities or industry that will spark some ideas about options, but our laws, generally, favor developers on all fronts. We can only hope for you that the constructions is completed soon and you are restored some level of quiet.

http://health.hawaii.gov/irhb/files/2017/08/noiserefoahu.pdf

Noisy Neighbors In Makiki

9/5/2018

Comment:
I live in a two story apartment building in Makiki, just above Lunalilo and Piikoi. You would think that my biggest noise complaint would be the freeway and the cars in the neighborhood headed to the freeway, but it isn't.

My biggest noise complaint is my neighbors. I have two neighbors in my building who test the boundaries of their eardrums daily with music, tv and speaking. I also have neighbors in the building behind me who think that the 10pm cutoff is a joke, and will happily play their tv very late into the night, no matter what day.

Most of the information provided on the website is very good, but I haven't seen much in how to deal with people being noisy in their own homes. Do you have any tips that could help my situation?

Quieter O'ahu Response:
We hear of noise neighbors a lot. Really, a LOT.

Here is a link to the current O'ahu Noise Reference Manual. http://health.hawaii.gov/irhb/files/2017/08/noiserefoahu.pdf  At page 12 there is a paragraph discussing options for noisy neighbors. The most common option we hear of is to call HPD at 911 and file a noisy neighbor report. You can tell the operator that you do not want your name or address mentioned to the noisy neighbor by the responding officer. The operator will dispatch a patrol to investigate and, if found to be "out-of-bounds" noise, they will usually issue a warning. If they are called multiple times to the same address and the noise hasn't been quieted they may issue a citation. Unless you are on very good terms with your neighbor, we always recommend that you do not confront them directly, but let HPD do that instead.

Noisy MOPEDS

9/5/2018

Comment:
It has been 2 years that the moped owners who use the 3rd house after [HBA] come out from 2pm to midnight on [frequently] to roar down the street.

For hours these riders go back and forth seemingly racing as well as testing their mufflers to make them even louder.

On most evenings it stops at 9pm or 10pm but recently they stopped after midnight, after reviving their moped engines louder and going faster.

Can HPD do anything about this?
several months ago I noticed an unmarked HPD car parked nearby. This seemed to have deterred the riders from roaring along the street.

It has only gotten worse this month.

Quieter O'ahu Respone:
You certainly have the option of contacting HPD. You can even ask that your name or address not be mentioned with confronting the offenders. There are numerous ordnances and statutes governing loud mopeds and you can review many of them on our website at this link. https://www.quieteroahu.com/hawaii-noise-laws.html

Should you choose to contact HPD it would be beneficial, if possible and only if it can be done without confronting the offenders, to have license numbers should they have departed the area before HPD arrives. Otherwise, HPD will likely, at minimum, issue warnings and if they are called again for the same behavior they may issue citations if they determine that a moped-related ordnance of statute has been violated.

Late Night - Early Morning Noisy Commercial Garbage Collection

9/5/2018

Comment:
Have tried to be tolerant but the issue keeps getting worse. Last night it started at 3:45 in the morning with the emptying of dumpsters across the street at, behind and in the surrounding area of The Ritz Carlton. The noise of the back up vehicles is annoying in itself but these dumpster s apparently have a lot of glass in them from the nightclubs in the vicinity and then the shutting of the metal lids kept a number of us up all night. It seemed non stop till well past 6:00 in the morning. I don’t feel I have to close my doors and windows if I choose not to and if so it only dulls the already loud noise. With the Ritz Carlton building across the street the street noise in EVERY sense has increased as noise is bouncing off of the buildings. I hear conversations on the street like they are in my living/bedroom on the top floor of my building. Can you not station yourself there at the early hours of the morning to hear this yourself ? This was on a Friday night but it is not exclusive to that night.

Quieter O'ahu Response:
We hear this complaint frequently. VERY frequently. Waikiki as you have probably noticed is undergoing a huge surge in development. The Ritz Carton was a part of that development, but expect to see more, and more accompanying noise. It sounds that your complaint probably has two components, first - the loud noise generally associated with refuse collection: vehicle noise, metal-on-metal noise, and noise of emptying and replacing containers; second - the backup warning noise emitted from commercial vehicles. Either of these is distressing. When combined they are often intolerable.

Here's the link to the current O'ahu Noise Reference Manual. http://health.hawaii.gov/irhb/files/2017/08/noiserefoahu.pdf There are references to Garbage Truck, if they are city and county vehicles, and for backup warning signals. For city and county trucks there is a number to call to register a complain, but from past experience we haven't heard of much success. For warning signals the city and county have laws mandating that commercial vehicles employ these warnings, and while we have tried to gain traction in modifying this law so that it is used only during daylight hours there has so far been no success. However, we have heard from subscribers that they have had modest success in contacting the commercial garbage collection service(s) and complaining about noise at specific pickup locations. Sometimes these companies will direct their drivers to be sensitive to community complaints and "sometimes" noise is mitigated. Too, you might consider contacting the Ritz Carlton with your complaint. It is often in their interest to caution their contractors than face organized community pushback and bad press. Absent that, things will remain unchanged until we elect legislators who understand the impact of noise on the community, and enact sensible ordinance and statutes to restore some degree of quiet.

Wish we could have provided a better response, but this is a long-standing problem of commerce clashing with community and our lawmakers seems to favor commerce.

Quieter O'ahu

Trolley Noise In Diamond Head

8/7/2018

Comment:
Hi, I am really glad I found your website. I have been a resident of Oahu for 32 years living at Diamond Head. I am very concerned about the much elevated noise levels and constant disturbances of the Commercial Waikiki Tour Trolleys travelling down our once quiet and peaceful streets. The Waikiki Tour Trolleys operate everyday day 7 days a week, 365 days/year rain or shine. The first Tour Trolley passes by at 6:20am waking both my wife and I up every morning due to the loud exhaust noise. I measured the dB level from these Trolleys and it read between 72-80db at 30ft, well above the acceptable noise level guidelines set by the City for residential neighborhoods during the day at between 50-60db. This doesn't include the noise from the loudspeaker in which the driver narrates the sites to the travelers while they are passing by and also does not include the driver ringing the Trolly bell numerous times. Very annoying and disruptive to do this in a residential neighborhood. There are about 55-60 Tour Trolleys now that transit down our street, up significantly from 0 just a few year ago. I have reached out to both my State and City representative to see if they can pass some legislation limiting this type of commercial activity in residential neighborhoods or at the very least restrict the noise levels of the operators. They both said it will take a long time to do this and there are no guarantees. I also contacted the Dept. of Health and they told me that at the current time they do not have any regulations against this type of noise. I have already presented this to my neighborhood board. Any help to get this matter under control would be appreciated. Feel free to publish this on your website blog to spread the word. Why are we allowing ALL of our residential communities to become commercialized at the expense of the residents who live there? This issue needs to be addressed. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. -Aloha

Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
Thanks for your comments. We will most definitely post your comments for the benefit of our website visitors. Looks as though you're covering all the right bases: city council, legislature, neighborhood board, dept of health. A couple comments. As you're doubtlessly aware tourism is BIG business in Hawaii. An interesting pastime would be to look up the parent company of the trolley service and then look at campaign contributors for various members of council and the legislature. Without looking I'm fairly confident that you'll see that company's name appearing frequently. And it's for THAT reason, not difficulty in passing legislation, that it will "...take a long, long time..." to get legislation passed. Too, it's interesting that everyone seems to be telling you that there's nothing that can be done. The dept of health regulates commercial noise and if busses, trucks, trollies, etc., are emitting noise above prescribed limits it is their responsibility to investigate. Also, of the outreach you've performed, the neighborhood board could potentially be the best approach. As the level of city government closest to the community you have the ability to speak directly to the board and others in attendance and share your views in that forum. We're reasonably sure that you'll find like-minded neighbors who will give you their support. When enough voices are raised, politicians DO begin to notice. May take enough voices raised to register their own breach of noise limits, but votes do count - particularly at the council level. Keep pushing; we will, too. We feel the same frustration every day, but occasionally we do register a few gains. We've added you to distribution for our info-sharing.
Mahalo for contacting us.
A Quieter O'ahu

Loud Motorcycles In Waianae And No Help From HPD

7/12/2018

Comment:
Peaceful Sundays are a thing of the past. I have been listening to a jerk on a dirt bike, unregistered, fly around the [my street] for almost two hours now. This is a small beach loop with children walking along the road, The rider is guilty of what used to be ticketed as "exhibition of speed" I contacted HPD, nothing will be done. Rider in violation of speed laws, safety laws, noise laws........not to mention operating an off road motor vehicle on a city street.

Short of running a clothes line across the road there is nothing to be done. I can only hope he runs out of gas or breaks down.

Not to mention the gang of over 70 moped riders that went past on Farrington Hwy on their way to the "end of the road"....can't wait for their return!!. My guess is half of them are stolen and the rest unregistered. Where is HPD?

Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
You have our collective sympathy and we each and every one completely understand what you're saying. Particularly this time of the year, and on Sundays of all days, dozens (and often dozens more) band together for motorcycle runs to whatever destination they have chosen - all too often one of our beach parks or their favorite watering hole - and be damned the public, let's make some noise!!! And it's noise ONLY for the sake of noise. Doesn't improve performance of the motorcycle, and if you've read our pages on motorcycle noise EVERY legitimate biking organization AND Harley Davidson have disputed the bleat of "loud pipes save lives." The physics just don't work as responsible motorcycle clubs and Harley Davidson will tell you. Just hogwash mantra to excuse what is nothing more than bad behavior.

And you're right, too, that getting HPD to step in and assist is less than successful on most occasions. But that's the case for ALL forms of noise - not just motorcycles. HPD just turns a blind eye and a deaf ear. And as you've also pointed out, it's not a matter of enacting new laws - we have the laws already - it's a question of enforcement.

Our recommendation here is the same as we have shared with many others: become active in your neighborhood board. There you have a voice - use it. Demand answers of HPD for their abysmal record of enforcement. Have your board have your local HPD District present statistics at each monthly board meeting of how many noise citations they've issued for the previous month in their District. The numbers will typically hover close to 0 (zero) and that should get everyone's attention. Hold them to account for low numbers.

Too, you can simply contact your board and tell them you would like 5 minutes of time during their neighborhood issues period of the meeting to address HPD's lack of response to loud motorcycle noise in your neighborhood. Then stand up when your scheduled time comes and tell your story - you've done your homework and it will be compelling to your neighbors in attendance, and I'm sure most of them will relate. Put HPD on the spot by telling your neighbors at the meeting that HPD isn't concerned about noise. HPD attends all neighborhood board meetings, and holding them to account in this forum will make a difference.

You can find your neighborhood board schedule and their emails at the following link. http://www.honolulu.gov/cms-nco-menu/site-nco-featured/191-site-nco-cat/682-test.html

Mahalo for dropping us a note.

Quieter O'ahu

Boom Cars in Waianae

5/21/2018

Comment:

All of us in the neighborhood are being harassed by young men roaming the streets playing their boom car stereos at all hours of the day and night with no end in sight. It seems to have actually increased in popularity the past couple of years, and there is little we can do since the vehicles are moving and we can't pinpoint them to police. They are literally a block away on the highway and our house walls vibrate. Why are we all being held hostage to this madness? If we can hear and feel these cars a mile away, why are the police forcing us to call 911 when they can easily catch these people on their own? These young men are literally screaming for someone to catch them and yet no one does. No wonder they are so emboldened.

Quieter O'ahu Response:

Aloha,
Thanks for the note. You've stated one, and one of our biggest, noise problems quite well. And you pose some interesting points and questions. Makes us want to stand on a soapbox to answer. But trying to be a bit restrained, let's see if we can discuss some of your points one by one, in no particular order.

Emboldened - Excellent choice of words. They are and have been emboldened for some time now. You may not have seen this page on our website, but it's a small sampling of the advertisements from third party amplifier and speaker vendors. It's a clear message to youth that their rights to noise are unlimited and, how dare anyone question them. And should anyone question them, well, that's the middle-finger poster. Check out these ads: https://www.quieteroahu.com/illegally-used-boom-car-stereos.html and also here: http://www.noiseoff.org/boomcars.php where you'll want to watch the "Disturb" video made by Pioneer.

Emboldened - Excellent choice of words #2. Too, they are emboldened by a lack of enforcement of noise laws by HPD. Would you believe there is an ordinance on the books TODAY, and has been for many years, that addresses EXACTLY this problem? Here's the link to our website where you can read Revised Ordinance of Honolulu (ROH) Sec. 41-31.1 Prohibited Noise: https://www.quieteroahu.com/hawaii-noise-laws.html . You'll notice that all the HPD officer has to do is HEAR the noise over 30 feet from the source for the motorist to be in violation. So how many tickets have they issued under this ordinance? Practically none, zip, nada, zero. Here's a test case for you. Attend your next Waianae Neighborhood Board meeting. You can find where and when here at this link: http://www.honolulu.gov/nco/boards.html . At each board meeting there will be a representative from your local HPD police district who provides crime stats. Ask the question how many noise or noise related citations are issued; how many specifically are issued under ROH 41-31.1 Prohibited Noise? Guarantee the HPD rep will stutter, and give some excuse that he's not familiar with that one or how many citations are issued. Then ask if those numbers can be provided at the next meeting. Ideally what you would want is for the HPD rep to HAVE to provide those stats at EVERY board meeting. Let your neighbors know what HPD is doing about noise in your neighborhood. The answer will be close to nothing in terms of citations issued. But by putting them on the spot where they have to report facts and figures you may be able to begin changing things.

These young men are literally screaming for someone to catch them. You are absolutely correct. And there's no way HPD can be excused by saying "once we respond to a complain they're already gone." Excuse me, but BS. HPD hears these guys JUST LIKE YOU DO. They just REFUSE TO ENFORCE THE LAW! Putting them under a spotlight at board meetings, holding them accountable to your neighborhood board, and contacting your council member are all ways to help influence HPD leadership to become active against this plague to our island home.

Okay, off the soapbox. But we hope you take the point that you can make a difference and you do have a voice. You just have to use it in the right place. If you do, I think you'll find a lot of your neighbors agreeing with you and jumping on the wagon.

Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu

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The author is just another Hawai'i resident who is tired of seeing the proliferation of noise on our beautiful O'ahu going unchecked.

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