QUESTION: A while back on a Sunday, a roofing company worked a full day on a neighbor’s house. I called the state Department of Health to report this violation of noise law and got a recording machine as they are not open on Sunday. I followed up the next morning and spoke to an inspector who agreed that there is no way to catch violators in the act as no inspectors work on Sunday. When I called the Waikiki police station on the same subject a few months ago, the officer said neither he nor the other officer there knew what the laws are regarding the legal times to make construction noise. The health inspector told me I can show a responding officer the state law regarding construction noise and request that he follow the law. How will I convince a dispatcher to send an officer when the police do not know what the law is? Can you help correct this Catch-22 and make sure police are aware that they are responsible for enforcing the noise laws regarding Sunday construction?
ANSWER: While Department of Health inspectors do not work weekends, they do follow up on complaints.
"It is very difficult for us to ‘catch’ noise violators" on a Sunday, because normal office hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, acknowledged Jeffrey Eckerd, program manager for the department’s Indoor and Radiological Health Branch.
However, his office will initiate an investigation and contact the owner or contractor who may be violating the noise laws.
"If we find that the owner/contractor is continually working on Sundays and ignoring the laws, we may schedule an inspector for a Sunday inspection in an attempt to obtain a violation," Eckerd said.
In this case he said a noise inspector contacted the property owner to inform them of the noise rules and planned to contact the contractor as well.
"While we were unable to get a violation in this particular instance, informing the owner and contractor will hopefully prevent future occurrences," Eckerd said.
He said his office also may recommend that complainants contact the police "in an effort to obtain immediate relief."
"However, this can be hit or miss, dependent upon the available resources of the Police Department, and an individual officer’s knowledge of the noise laws," Eckerd said. "We continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to keep them abreast of noise regulations."
We also passed on your complaint to HPD.
QUESTION: Was Haleiwa Road legally called Haleiwa Beach Road, and if so, when was it changed and why?
ANSWER: There is no record that Haleiwa Road ever was called Haleiwa Beach Road, according to Mario Siu-Li, chief of the Subdivision Branch of the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
However, it did briefly have a different name, and at one time there was a Haleiwa Beach Road in a different area.
The DPP records show the current Haleiwa Road got its name before 1945.
That year the Waialua Community Club asked the city to rename the street "Goodale Road" for a former plantation manager.
"This name remained until 1954 when it reverted back to Haleiwa Road as part of a wholesale naming of streets by the city for the Waialua-Haleiwa area," Siu-Li said.
He said, "Curiously, a portion of Waialua Beach Road from Weed Circle to Kiikii Stream was labeled ‘Haleiwa Beach Road’ on some tax maps. However, the name was not official, and it became Waialua Beach Road in 1954."
MAHALO
To a wonderful angel, Roy Dahlin of Ewa Beach, who stopped on the H-1 freeway to change our flat tire. He refused to accept anything, saying to donate it to our church for the poor and hungry. God bless him. — Two Senior Citizens
MAHALO
To the two lovely ladies who sat in the booth next to us at the Gyotaku Restaurant in Pearl City back in April. We were pleasantly surprised when our waiter told us that you paid for our bill. We hope the same for you someday. — Blanche
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
