Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Rules differ for noisy
trucks on private landQuestion: There is a manapua truck stopping at a private school across the street from my house daily to sell snacks. While parked on school grounds, loud music comes from the truck, which is very irritable. This lasts from 10 to 20 minutes each day. Is there any law concerning the length of time loud music can be played? I'm about 200 feet from the truck.
Answer: The fact that the vendor is on private property complicates matters.
You should first try calling the school administration, asking that the sound be toned down, since the vendor apparently is there with its approval.
If that doesn't work, you can call police at 911 and ask that an officer be sent to assess the situation, said Sgt. Chris Carang, of the Honolulu Police Department's Firearms Division.
"If the sound is real loud and is making people uncomfortable or irritable, they can talk to the individual to tone it down," he said.
Otherwise, a disorderly conduct citation could possibly be issued, he said.
HPD's Firearms Division issues permits for "sound vehicles," but the permit applies only to vehicles that operate on public property, Carang said. The chief of police promulgates the rules and regulations for the permit.
The permit doesn't allow for continuous music, but only intermittent amplified sound; specifically, 15 seconds of amplified sound, followed by 45 seconds of silence for every one-minute period. The sound cannot exceed 70 decibels, Carang added.
Also, vehicles with such permits are not supposed to be parked within 500 feet of any hospital, nursing home, animal care facility or church, or while a school is in session, and they are not supposed to generate the sound between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Carang noted that, at one time, trolley operators were applying for a sound vehicle permit for their bells. But because it was not amplified sound, they were not required to have a permit, he said.
Sound permits typically were issued in the past to ice-cream vendors. However, "I haven't seen anybody coming in for permits lately," Carang said.
He also looked at the city's "boom box" ordinance, under which people can be cited for excessive noise emanating from a vehicle, but that, too, applies only to vehicles on public property, he said.
Mahalo
To Nancy: We are three little old ladies, friends for 54 years. Once a month, we get together for a fancy lunch. The last time, we chose Haleiwa. As soon as we stepped off the bus, something fell out of the tree and landed on the white collar of my brand new dress I'd made for the occasion. "What's on my shoulder? I think I've been bird-bombed," I said. Peggy said I was right, while Adele watched. Nearby, on the porch of her nearby store, a lady was eating her lunch. She came to us with paper towels and used her drinking water to wash away the spots until I was as good as new. Thanks, Nancy. My advice is if you go to Haleiwa, don't stand under a tree, don't stand under a bird. -- Evalynn Quisenberry
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