Aloha Council and thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony. I respectfully request that you consider what it is like to live near a neighbor who decides upon retirement to take up metal work as a side job/hobby. The constant grinding and occasional screeching are very annoying and occasionally infuriating. The tension builds after hours of said noise. Although the neighbor may be a very person and neighbor otherwise, this constant onslaught of nerve provoking noise is very hard to live with. And being several houses away, I can only imagine the distress for immediate neighbors. Please support this ordinance. We deserve to have peace at home. Mahalo for your hard work on our behalf.
I am submitting testimony in support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and neighbors. I truly feel this nuisance legislation is a must. Especially in tightly packed communities / neighborhoods like the one I live in.
I am a firm believer that your home is your safe space. It is a place to relax, decompress, and most importantly spend quality time with your ohana (family). It’s where you lay your head at night after a long day. It isn’t supposed to be a cause for stress or anxiety.
I know life can be loud and am not against having gatherings at one’s home (Holidays, celebrations, cookouts, karaoke nights, Football Sunday etc…). I am against harmful noxious fumes, fire hazards, extremely loud noises, and anything that endangers the safety, physical, mental and emotional well being of others.
Please consider passing this as it would benefit my family and so many others in our community.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
-Tiare Reinhardt
I live across the street for years he’s been a nuisance till 11 at nite instead of doing it in the day when everyone’s up and at work. He makes all this noise at 9-11 at nite and it’s so disrespectful to the neighbors!!! Something should be done!!!
I am in support of Resolution 22-240 and urge you to be as well.
Residents should have a right to not be subjected to industrial activities and noise while they’re at home. When the repetitive industrial noise activities go on in our residential neighborhoods it prohibits us from having the peace we should be entitled to have.
I definitely support this legislation as I’ve had neighbors whom prevented me from quietly enjoying my home. I think it is imperative that people can peaceably enjoy their home.
It isn’t cool to live next to someone pounding metal or doing industrial activities while you try and relax at night. It’s not a big deal during the day when folks are at work or school, but less ok when I’m trying to relax after a hard day at work. Heali’i
Having to wake up at 4 am it is really hard to get a good nights sleep with loud hammering sounds all night long. Please keep industrial activities out of residential neighborhoods. It is really unfair to the people trying to be comfortable at home.
I am submitting this testimony in strong support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and my neighbors. This nuisance legislation is a strong and necessary step to protecting the health and physical and mental well-being of Maui communities and families like mine.
It seems like this law should already exist, but since it doesn’t, please consider passing this through to the council.
Neighborhoods are for living in, not conducting industrial or harmful activities in. We have separate districts for different types of activities because certain activities, such as industrial activities like metal welding, car repair, and blacksmithing, can have a detrimental effect on human health and well-being due to noise and fumes.
I have had a next-door neighbor that began blacksmithing in his driveway in 2020. For years, we’ve endured a loud and noxious propane forge, constant banging of a metal hammer on an anvil, and the sound of grinding metal, often until 10 pm. Research by the National Institute of Health found that find “residents of neighborhoods in close proximity to industrial activity report elevated levels of psychological distress compared to residents of neighborhoods removed from this type of activity. These influences are more pronounced among women.” I can personally attest that this is true. There is a large body of research that all supports this. Another paper in the Journal of Environmental Psychology reports that “Regardless of the type of industry that is operating, there was a significant association between living in industrialized areas and decreased levels of well being, optimism and use of active coping strategies. Results on anxiety and depression were especially high in areas associated with air pollution.” There are many good reasons to separate residential and industrial activities, and public health, both physical and mental, is paramount.
I was born and raised on Maui, and I’ve built good relationships with my neighbors in the extremely tightly-packed community of Paukukalo since we moved here in 2017. Part of living in a small, densely-populated neighborhood like this is respecting each other’s rights to both enjoyment and peace and quiet, and almost everyone understands this. This law is not about gentrification or regulating or prohibiting normal life activities, such as karaoke nights in the garage, construction projects, graduation parties, or New Year celebrations. This is about protecting families and communities from dangerous activities that should never be conducted in residential neighborhoods because of their harmful nature. No one is saying that someone can’t practice a hobby, however noxious or loud, just that this activity should be conducted in the proper industrial district to protect the health of neighbors and Maui residents.
My baby is 14 months old. For my entire pregnancy and his entire life, I’ve been subject to the mental and physical stressor of living next to a blacksmithing forge that often runs until 10 pm. The police, the county, and the state have failed to help us, not because they don’t want to, but because they say they can’t. I cannot stress enough how detrimental this has been to my emotional and probably my physical health. My closest neighbors have a newborn baby and the other is pregnant. Please, please consider passing this to protect us and our children.
Mahalo nui for reading my testimony.
Lantana Hoke
UHMC English Lecturer
Director, Pacific Birth Collective
Aloha Committee Chair Paltin and Committee Members,
I am submitting this testimony in strong support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and my neighbors. Some activities, like industrial activities, do not belong in the residential zoning district. However, those activities are currently being allowed if called a hobby. Even if the so called hobby is incredibly disruptive and harmful to the community, such activities will be allowed to continue unless some sort of nuisance law is established. Please, end this outrageous loophole for hobbies, and keep industrial activities out of residential zoning.
The Maui County Code describes the residential zoning district generally as “areas for single-family dwellings established to provide for harmonious residential neighborhood without the detraction of commercial and industrial activities.” Granted, under the permitted and special uses for the residential zoning districts, certain exceptions are made for low impact commercial activities, “provided that there will be no detrimental or nuisance effect upon the neighbors.” However, no similar exceptions are stated for industrial activities. Pursuant to the code, “any use that is not expressly listed as a permitted principle, accessory, or special use is prohibited.” Based on that alone, one would think nuisance laws aren’t necessary to protect residents from getting stuck living next to an industrial activity like blacksmithing. Such uses should be assumed prohibited based on the clear language of the code, but that isn’t how Maui County is currently approaching this. There is a loophole, and Resolution 22-240 addresses that loophole.
The Maui County Code says that “those uses which may be obnoxious or offensive by reason of emission of odor, dust, smoke, gas, noise, vibration and the like, and not allowed in any other district,” belong in the M-2 or M-3 industrial districts. However, the Maui County Department of Planning will not enforce against such uses in the residential zoning districts if they are a “hobby.” Though this loophole does not appear to exist anywhere in the language of the law, it still needs to be addressed in order to protect residents and maintain the integrity of residential zoning. I am begging you to close this loophole and put an end to industrial activities where they don’t belong.
This legislation will impact me and my neighborhood directly, and we are hopeful that it passes, but you should pass this for the benefit of all your residents. In our circumstance, we live beside a neighbor who took up blacksmithing as a hobby. This has resulted in the sounds of grinding and hammering on metal ringing through our home for hours in the evening between 6 and 10 p.m. It usually starts while we are having dinner or getting our baby ready for bed. This deafening noise is accompanied by smoke and fumes from his propane powered forge drifting into our bedroom windows, because our neighborhood is tightly packed and he set the forge up no more than 8 feet from our windows. I know the sound causes hearing damage, the fumes cause cancer, and the forge itself is a major fire hazard. Our blacksmith neighbor knows this too, but he doesn’t care because it is how he “gets his zen.” When myself or other neighbors have tried to talk to him, we are met with apathy, anger and accusations of harassment. Since the forge and anvil are set up outside, the majority of the neighborhood can hear the pounding and nobody likes it. We are all being forced to suffer right now because one person has fun at the expense of everyone else, and we need the county’s help.
With the housing situation being what it is in Maui County, most of us have either spent our life savings to afford a down payment here, or we are spending half or more of our earnings to afford rent here. We deserve to be able to enjoy our homes as intended, without the detraction of commercial or industrial activities. I understand that sometimes life is loud, and I don’t mind when neighbors have parties or need to work on their homes or their cars. In our neighborhood, these are common occurrences and we all try to be respectful of everyone around us, and we generally don’t care when things get loud at odd hours. This is evidenced by the fact that we have been putting up with the blacksmithing for over two years, but enough is enough. Industrial activities belong in the industrial zones, regardless of whether they are done for pleasure or for profit. Please help your residents.
Aloha Council and thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony. I respectfully request that you consider what it is like to live near a neighbor who decides upon retirement to take up metal work as a side job/hobby. The constant grinding and occasional screeching are very annoying and occasionally infuriating. The tension builds after hours of said noise. Although the neighbor may be a very person and neighbor otherwise, this constant onslaught of nerve provoking noise is very hard to live with. And being several houses away, I can only imagine the distress for immediate neighbors. Please support this ordinance. We deserve to have peace at home. Mahalo for your hard work on our behalf.
Aloha Chair Palatin and Committee Members,
I am submitting testimony in support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and neighbors. I truly feel this nuisance legislation is a must. Especially in tightly packed communities / neighborhoods like the one I live in.
I am a firm believer that your home is your safe space. It is a place to relax, decompress, and most importantly spend quality time with your ohana (family). It’s where you lay your head at night after a long day. It isn’t supposed to be a cause for stress or anxiety.
I know life can be loud and am not against having gatherings at one’s home (Holidays, celebrations, cookouts, karaoke nights, Football Sunday etc…). I am against harmful noxious fumes, fire hazards, extremely loud noises, and anything that endangers the safety, physical, mental and emotional well being of others.
Please consider passing this as it would benefit my family and so many others in our community.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
-Tiare Reinhardt
I live across the street for years he’s been a nuisance till 11 at nite instead of doing it in the day when everyone’s up and at work. He makes all this noise at 9-11 at nite and it’s so disrespectful to the neighbors!!! Something should be done!!!
Aloha Committee Members.
I am in support of Resolution 22-240 and urge you to be as well.
Residents should have a right to not be subjected to industrial activities and noise while they’re at home. When the repetitive industrial noise activities go on in our residential neighborhoods it prohibits us from having the peace we should be entitled to have.
Mahalo for the opportunity to submit testimony.
Dwayne Groff
I definitely support this legislation as I’ve had neighbors whom prevented me from quietly enjoying my home. I think it is imperative that people can peaceably enjoy their home.
Some things are better suited for commercial or industrial zoning.
We have been impacted by a neighbor who has been doing welding as an industrial hobby and it’s really disrupting.
Taylor Robot Robinson
It isn’t cool to live next to someone pounding metal or doing industrial activities while you try and relax at night. It’s not a big deal during the day when folks are at work or school, but less ok when I’m trying to relax after a hard day at work. Heali’i
Having to wake up at 4 am it is really hard to get a good nights sleep with loud hammering sounds all night long. Please keep industrial activities out of residential neighborhoods. It is really unfair to the people trying to be comfortable at home.
I think that hobbies involving industrial activities or hobbies in a residential neighborhood. Steven Roof 595 Linekona Pl. Wailuku Hi 96793
Aloha Chair Palatin and Committee Members,
I am submitting this testimony in strong support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and my neighbors. This nuisance legislation is a strong and necessary step to protecting the health and physical and mental well-being of Maui communities and families like mine.
It seems like this law should already exist, but since it doesn’t, please consider passing this through to the council.
Neighborhoods are for living in, not conducting industrial or harmful activities in. We have separate districts for different types of activities because certain activities, such as industrial activities like metal welding, car repair, and blacksmithing, can have a detrimental effect on human health and well-being due to noise and fumes.
I have had a next-door neighbor that began blacksmithing in his driveway in 2020. For years, we’ve endured a loud and noxious propane forge, constant banging of a metal hammer on an anvil, and the sound of grinding metal, often until 10 pm. Research by the National Institute of Health found that find “residents of neighborhoods in close proximity to industrial activity report elevated levels of psychological distress compared to residents of neighborhoods removed from this type of activity. These influences are more pronounced among women.” I can personally attest that this is true. There is a large body of research that all supports this. Another paper in the Journal of Environmental Psychology reports that “Regardless of the type of industry that is operating, there was a significant association between living in industrialized areas and decreased levels of well being, optimism and use of active coping strategies. Results on anxiety and depression were especially high in areas associated with air pollution.” There are many good reasons to separate residential and industrial activities, and public health, both physical and mental, is paramount.
I was born and raised on Maui, and I’ve built good relationships with my neighbors in the extremely tightly-packed community of Paukukalo since we moved here in 2017. Part of living in a small, densely-populated neighborhood like this is respecting each other’s rights to both enjoyment and peace and quiet, and almost everyone understands this. This law is not about gentrification or regulating or prohibiting normal life activities, such as karaoke nights in the garage, construction projects, graduation parties, or New Year celebrations. This is about protecting families and communities from dangerous activities that should never be conducted in residential neighborhoods because of their harmful nature. No one is saying that someone can’t practice a hobby, however noxious or loud, just that this activity should be conducted in the proper industrial district to protect the health of neighbors and Maui residents.
My baby is 14 months old. For my entire pregnancy and his entire life, I’ve been subject to the mental and physical stressor of living next to a blacksmithing forge that often runs until 10 pm. The police, the county, and the state have failed to help us, not because they don’t want to, but because they say they can’t. I cannot stress enough how detrimental this has been to my emotional and probably my physical health. My closest neighbors have a newborn baby and the other is pregnant. Please, please consider passing this to protect us and our children.
Mahalo nui for reading my testimony.
Lantana Hoke
UHMC English Lecturer
Director, Pacific Birth Collective
Aloha Committee Chair Paltin and Committee Members,
I am submitting this testimony in strong support of Resolution 22-240 on behalf of myself, my family, and my neighbors. Some activities, like industrial activities, do not belong in the residential zoning district. However, those activities are currently being allowed if called a hobby. Even if the so called hobby is incredibly disruptive and harmful to the community, such activities will be allowed to continue unless some sort of nuisance law is established. Please, end this outrageous loophole for hobbies, and keep industrial activities out of residential zoning.
The Maui County Code describes the residential zoning district generally as “areas for single-family dwellings established to provide for harmonious residential neighborhood without the detraction of commercial and industrial activities.” Granted, under the permitted and special uses for the residential zoning districts, certain exceptions are made for low impact commercial activities, “provided that there will be no detrimental or nuisance effect upon the neighbors.” However, no similar exceptions are stated for industrial activities. Pursuant to the code, “any use that is not expressly listed as a permitted principle, accessory, or special use is prohibited.” Based on that alone, one would think nuisance laws aren’t necessary to protect residents from getting stuck living next to an industrial activity like blacksmithing. Such uses should be assumed prohibited based on the clear language of the code, but that isn’t how Maui County is currently approaching this. There is a loophole, and Resolution 22-240 addresses that loophole.
The Maui County Code says that “those uses which may be obnoxious or offensive by reason of emission of odor, dust, smoke, gas, noise, vibration and the like, and not allowed in any other district,” belong in the M-2 or M-3 industrial districts. However, the Maui County Department of Planning will not enforce against such uses in the residential zoning districts if they are a “hobby.” Though this loophole does not appear to exist anywhere in the language of the law, it still needs to be addressed in order to protect residents and maintain the integrity of residential zoning. I am begging you to close this loophole and put an end to industrial activities where they don’t belong.
This legislation will impact me and my neighborhood directly, and we are hopeful that it passes, but you should pass this for the benefit of all your residents. In our circumstance, we live beside a neighbor who took up blacksmithing as a hobby. This has resulted in the sounds of grinding and hammering on metal ringing through our home for hours in the evening between 6 and 10 p.m. It usually starts while we are having dinner or getting our baby ready for bed. This deafening noise is accompanied by smoke and fumes from his propane powered forge drifting into our bedroom windows, because our neighborhood is tightly packed and he set the forge up no more than 8 feet from our windows. I know the sound causes hearing damage, the fumes cause cancer, and the forge itself is a major fire hazard. Our blacksmith neighbor knows this too, but he doesn’t care because it is how he “gets his zen.” When myself or other neighbors have tried to talk to him, we are met with apathy, anger and accusations of harassment. Since the forge and anvil are set up outside, the majority of the neighborhood can hear the pounding and nobody likes it. We are all being forced to suffer right now because one person has fun at the expense of everyone else, and we need the county’s help.
With the housing situation being what it is in Maui County, most of us have either spent our life savings to afford a down payment here, or we are spending half or more of our earnings to afford rent here. We deserve to be able to enjoy our homes as intended, without the detraction of commercial or industrial activities. I understand that sometimes life is loud, and I don’t mind when neighbors have parties or need to work on their homes or their cars. In our neighborhood, these are common occurrences and we all try to be respectful of everyone around us, and we generally don’t care when things get loud at odd hours. This is evidenced by the fact that we have been putting up with the blacksmithing for over two years, but enough is enough. Industrial activities belong in the industrial zones, regardless of whether they are done for pleasure or for profit. Please help your residents.
Mahalo,
Jason Economou