By Rainer Standke

Lately our quiet Oaks neighborhood has become a noisier place. Increased construction and remodeling activity, due to the hot real estate market we have had for a while now, seem to be the biggest contributors to this phenomenon. As I am writing this, some drilling for caissons is going on, a radio is playing, a chainsaw is running, a jackhammer is banging on rock somewhere, and a circular saw is whining, all within earshot, and all at the same time.

A while back, I heard someone banging with a hammer on a rain gutter around 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The first thing that I did was to call 311, the City's hotline. A friendly and competent operator told me that this was indeed not allowed under the Municipal Code. I could have then called LAPD Dispatch for non-emergencies at 1-877-275-5273, but instead I went over to the house in question. There I found two men at work, and I told them that they couldn't work on a Sunday. I told them I’d have to call the police if they wouldn't stop, and eventually, they did.

Obviously people have the right to do whatever they want with their properties. However, I think it is vital for any neighborhood to find a healthy balance between construction activities and the need for peace and quiet. And that latter need is actually protected to some degree by the Los Angeles Municipal Code. The pertinent provisions are found in Sections 112.01 through 112.04 regarding noise in general, and in Section 41.40 regarding construction noise. Though I am not a legal expert, I am going to share my understanding of those rules with you.

The gist of Section 41.40 is that construction activity, including remodeling and excavation, as well as deliveries of construction equipment and materials, is legal between 7 am and 9 pm Monday through Friday, and between 8 am and 6 pm on Saturdays and national holidays. No such activity is permitted on Sundays at any time, unless executed by the individual homeowner himself or herself, and not by contractors.

Enforcement of these regulations is done for the most part by the LAPD, which can be called at their non-emergency number: 877-275-5273. On a recent Sunday, a police car was in the neighborhood around 9 A.M. and actually shut down work on a site across from my house after another neighbor had called the police.

You may think it's a bit harsh to call the cops on your neighbors. I have to tell you, though, that I was most grateful that somebody finally did. There is really very little protection against noise for Oaks residents and there are very few situations that are really as clear-cut as construction noise on a Sunday. Should you want to preserve a good relationship with a neighbor who has construction occurring on a Sunday, you can always approach the workers and/or the property owner and let them know that they can't work on Sundays. Many property owners may simply not know about this and will be grateful you warned them first before you called in the cavalry. If you encounter hostility or indifference you can still call the police afterwards.

Section 112.01 of the Municipal Code says that radios have to be turned down to a level that makes them inaudible 150 feet away from the property line of the construction site. It also says that a radio cannot be played at a volume that would increase the ambient noise level by more than 5 decibels. Measuring noise is a tricky thing, so proving violations might be difficult. Just to give you a rough idea, 3 decibels added to an existing level of noise roughly make that noise twice as loud. However, the 150 foot limit could be a powerful tool to get construction crews to turn down the music some of them seem to like to listen to on top of the noise they are making already.

Section 112.03 prohibits the use of any power tool whatsoever after 10 pm and before 7 am. My understanding is that this pertains to non-construction and non-repair tools, like lawn mowers. Both these sections are enforced by the LAPD. And interestingly, section 112.04 prohibits the use of gasoline-powered leaf-blowers all-together. Period. Both homeowners as well as contractor, i.e. gardeners, are eligible for fines of up to $100.

All this should give you a pretty good idea about the legal end of the noise problem. But what about a common sense approach that might build better to neighbor-to-neighbor relationships? Having a friendly talk with your neighbor is a good starting point and may even yield a resolution. If you don't know who the owner of a property under construction is, you can research it at the county assessors office. Most recent sales dates are available on the web, however the name of the owner is not.

Another approach is to talk to the workers on the construction site. They may well be able to help you by moving cars and trucks, turning down radios and so forth. However, if that doesn't yield results you can call the construction companies. Their phone numbers are often found on their trucks. The Department of Building and Safety's web site lets you look up permits that have been applied for by property address. Sometimes a general contractor is listed. However you find them, calling the contractor is a good idea, too. Making a friendly, but firm complaint to a manager may lead to more considerate behavior of crews at the work site.

We all came to The Oaks and we all enjoy living in The Oaks because of its tranquil character. Construction is a unavoidable part of neighborhood life. But when construction projects drag on for years and when more than one project sets up on the same block, they can become the most dominant presence in an entire neighborhood for long periods of time. And they become a disruptive influence in our lives. When that happens, neighbors need to talk to neighbors and work out the problems. Let’s hold on to the kind of neighborhood we all treasure.