QUESTION: On a recent Saturday at about 7 a.m., my neighbor was working in his yard with a hedge trimmer. The noise woke me up. What is the law regarding when people should not be making noise during certain hours in a residential area?

ANSWER: There are no state or county laws restricting the use of hedge trimmers, leaf blowers or other lawn maintenance equipment, either by setting hours of operation or limiting decibel levels.

Regarding neighbors making noise, there are laws regulating residential construction noise (supposed to be confined to weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and about barking dogs. It's against the city's animal nuisance law if your dog barks 10 minutes continuously or 30 minutes intermittently “;to the disturbance of others.”;

But whether the noise your neighbor is making (usually loud music or partying) is “;unreasonable”; is left to a police officer to decide, based on the time of day, location and other factors, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Contrary to popular belief, 10 p.m. is not the cutoff time when peace and quiet is to reign.

“;Unreasonable”; noise can be made at any time of the day or night, depending on the circumstances, says HPD.

However, officers do not carry noise monitors, so determination of what is unreasonable will be subjective.

State Sen. Mike Gabbard had introduced a bill this legislative session specifically to restrict the use of leaf blowers “;to reduce noise and air pollution in the state.”;

However, Senate Bill 2356 has been shelved in committee, and no action will be taken on it this year.

The bill would have made it unlawful to use gas-powered leaf blowers in the state, and restricted the use of electric leaf blowers within 100 feet of a residential zone, except between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any day, except Sundays and state or federal holidays.

When allowed to be used, the leaf blowers would have been prohibited within 10 feet of a window, door or air opening. Also, depending the size of the property, the bill would have limited how long they could be used, how many could be used at the same time and how loud they could be.

Government agencies would have been exempt from the restrictions, under the proposed bill.

The state Department of Health's Indoor and Radiological Health Branch has a brochure on whom to call “;When the Noise Gets Too LOUD.”;

Among other things, the branch deals with community noise issues. Call 586-4700 to get a copy of the brochure.

AUWE

Regarding the cost of replacing the light poles at Kanewai Community Park (hsblinks.com/28r): I played at Kanewai field 30 years ago. Are you kidding me? The total cost of more than $2 million for the project comes out to an average of more than $97,000 for each of the 21 poles. What is there to design? Put in new poles with the same lighting requirement where the old poles were. If the old poles worked, the new ones will be in the same spot. Can't cost that much to determine this. I presume you can find a pole on the Internet that works, then can hire someone to install them. Unbelievable. — Jon

———

Write to “;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).