SR-416-001 (2)
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11-6
Wt I 2 1988
C/ED:PC:JLA:ms
council Meeting July 12, 1988
Santa Monica, California
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation
Construction
to
Modify
permitted
Hours
of
INTRODUCTION
This report presents staff recommendation to change the hours
when construction may take place in the City of Santa Monica.
The proposed changes in pernd tted hours is in response to the
Council concern over noise citizens experience from nearby
construction sites.
Staff recommends that the Monday through
Friday construction hours be changed such that construction
activities end at 6:00 p.m., and that the Saturday hours end at
5:00 p.m.
In addition to greater restrictions in hours, staff
also recommends adding an additional criteria to existing
provisions which permit construction during off-hours under
certain circumstances:
no special permission for longer hours
may be granted for construction sites located within 100 feet of
a residentially zoned district.
BACKGROUND
At the City council meeting on May lOth, 1988, in response to a
citizen1s concern about the noise surrounding construction
activity near their residence, the city council directed staff to
investigate revising the hours during which construction can take
place in the city. Currently construction hours are 7:00 a.m. to
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8:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Work on Sundays and major holidays is prohibited. These hours
include the prohibition of demolition and excavation as well as
construction.
As part of the process of investigating the appropriateness of
the existing hours of construction, staff interviewed
representatives of construction unions, developers and other
cities.
construction Unions and Developers
The union representatives and developers contacted initially
expressed concern that if the weekday hours are substantially
reduced it would put a strain on project timelines and could add
significantly to the costs of projects. They point out that the
deletion of hours simply adds more days during which the site
will be under construction.
When asked for their suggestion for shortening construction hours
to address Council and resident concerns, construction industry
representatives suggested that a weekday stopping time of 7: 00
p.m. and a Saturday stopping time of 5:00 p.m. would be a
manageable modification to the existing hours. They also
expressed their wish to have the Saturday morning time changed to
8:00 a.m. should the Council approve the 5:00 p.m. stopping time.
Construction Policies in Other Cities
A survey was taken of 27 cities to ascertain their current
permitted hours of construction. The majority of cities have a
stopping time of 7:00 p.m. with 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. tied for
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the next most frequent stopping time. Three cities have stopping
times on weekdays of 6:00 p.m.: Beverly Hills, Huntington Beach
and El Segundo. Palm springs and San Francisco stop construction
at 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. For details of the cities surveyed
and their weekday and Saturday time lines, see Exhibit A.
Proposed Changes
The proposed hours for weekdays are 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., which
would result in a two hour reduction per day from the current
permitted timeline. The Saturday hours are proposed to be from
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., which would result in a three hour
reduction. Both of these reductions will allow residents to
experience a significant daily decrease of noise from
construction projects and thus enjoy a quieter environment.
While the hours proposed from staff reflect a departure from
those recommended by the construction industry, they will not
interfere with the typical construction workday I which ends at
approximately 4: 00 p.m. The allowed construction hours would
accommodate an ll-hour workday on weekdays, and an a-hour workday
on Saturdays.
The proposed hours for weekdays are consistent with the most
restrictive limitations inposed by other cities; the Saturday
hours would reduce by one to two hours those permitted by most
other cities, although one city surveyed, the city of Long Beach,
prohibi ts contruction on Saturdays entirely. Since many more
residents are at home on weekends, it is particularly important
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to protect the quality of the residential environment from
excessive noise during that time.
staff believes the hours as proposed are warranted to ensure a
more peaceful environment for the City1s residents and will not
unduly interfere with construction activities. It is also noted
that ten of the cities surveyed have decreased their construction
hours over the past two years in response to citizen concerns
over noise and construction activity.
New Hours Exemptions
consistent with present policy, staff believes exemptions to the
approved hours of construction should be granted under certain
circumstances. Currently, a permit for construction during
unauthorized times may he granted "... whenever it is found that
the public interest will be served thereby". The approval for a
permit to work outside the normal timelines involves approval
from the Building Officer, the Director of General services and
the City Manager. In addition to this criterion, staff
recommends that the permit to construct outside the approved
timelines be granted only when no residentially zoned districts
exist within 100 feet of the perimeter of the construction site.
Enforcement
City staff will increase monitoring of sites under construction
to verify that construction or construction-related activities do
not extend outside the specified time limits. Building
Inspectors, Zoning Inspectors and the Police Department will
organize a spot check procedure of construction projects to
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confirm compliance with existing rules, as well as compliance
with the City ordinance requiring signs of permitted construction
hours to be posted at each site. These signs serve as a reminder
of the time limitation to' construction personnel and notify
neighbors as well.
Conclusion
There is no simple solution to the noise impacts and
inconvenience experienced by the public while construction is
underway. The combined effect of the recommended changes in
hours would reduce permitted construction hours by 15% on
weekdays and 27% on Saturdays and thus lengthen the construction
period for each site. However, it is anticipated that the
modification to the permitted hours recommended in this staff
report and a more careful monitoring of the permitted
construction time limits will lessen the daily noise impacts
which neighbors of a project must endure.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
As proposed the recommendation of this staff report will not have
any budgetary or financial impact on the City.
RECOMMENDATION
In order to implement a change in construction hours, staff
respectfully recommends that the City Council:
1.
Direct the City Attorney to amend
restrictions on construction times
Code Section 4314. {Restriction
relevant existing
found in Municipal
of Construction,
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Maintenance, or Repair of Buildings, Exhibit B) as
follows:
a. Prohibit construction and demolition of buildings,
excavating or grading before 7: 00 a . m. or after
6:00 p.m. anywhere within the city on weekdays;
b. prohibit construction and demolition of buildings,
excavating or grading on Saturdays before 9:00 a.m.
or after 5:00 p.m. anywhere within the city;
c.
Amend
section
4314
(c) ,
to
permit
construction activity during otherwise prohibited
periods when there are, II no residentially zoned
districts within 100 feet of the perimeter of the
construction site.
2. Direct the City Manager to organize an interdepartmental
monitoring system for construction hours on projects.
Prepared by: Peggy Curran, Director
Joan L. Akins, Assistant to the Director
Community and Ecomomic Development
Attachments: Exhibit A: Allowable Construction Hours in other
Cities
Exhibit B: Ordinance Number 1406(CCS) Relating to
the Regulation of Noise and Vibration
Section 4314
(canstl)
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EXHIBIT A
ALLOWABLE CONSTRUCTION TIMES
MUNICIPALITY M-F SAT SUN
Los Angeles County
Beverly Hills 8 - 6 8 - 6 None
Culver city 8 - 7 9 - 7 10 - 7
El Segundo 7 - 6 7 - 6 None
Hermosa Beach 8 - 7 8 - 7 8 - 7
Inglewood 7 - 10 7 - 10 7 - 10
Long Beach 7 - 10 None None
Los Angeles 7 - 9 8 - 7 None
Manhattan Beach 7 - 10 8 - 10 8 - 10
Pasadena 7 - 9 7 - 9 None
Palos Verdes 7 - 8 9 - 6 None
Redondo Beach 7 - 8 7 - 8 None
Torrance 7 - 8 7 - 8 7 - 8
West Hollywood 7 - 7 7 - 7 None
Orange County
Huntington Beach 7 - 6 7 - 6 None
Irvine 7 - Dusk 9 - Dusk None
Newport Beach 7 - 6:30 8 - 6 10 - 6
Municipalities
North of Los Angeles
Carpinteria 7 - 10 7 - 10 7 - 10
Lompoc 7 - 7 7 - 7 7 - 7
Oakland 7 - 9 7 - 9 7 - 9
San Francisco 8 - 5 8 - 5 8 - 5
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MUNICIPALITY M-F SAT SUN
Santa Barbara 7 - 7 7 - 7 7 - 7
Santa Clara 7 - 7 7 - 7 None
Santa Cruz 7 - 6 9 - 6 None
Thousand Oaks 7 - 7 7 - 7 None
Ventura 7 - 8 7 - 8 7 - 8
San Bernardino County
Palm Springs 8 - 5 8 - 5 8 - 5
San Diego County
San Diego 7 - 7 7 - 7 None
(constatt)
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provided,
involving
building,
. EXHIBIT B
.
however, with respect to work upon or
the Use of a public street, alley,
or
other public
place
under
the
jurisdiction of the General Services Department,
applications shall be made to the Director of
General Services. No permit shall be issued unless
the application is first approved by the Director of
General Services, the Building Officer, the Chief of
Police, and the City Manager. Anyone dissatisfied
wi th the denial of such permit may appeal to the
City Council. The fees provided for in this Section
may be revised from time to time by resolution of
the City Council.
SECTION 4314. Restrictions on Construction,
Maintenance, or Repair of Buildinas.
ea} No person shall operate any eq'.Jipment,
including,
but not limited to,
vehicles and
helicopters involved in construction activity, or
perform any outside construction, maintenance, or
repair work on buildings, structures, or projects
during the following times anywhere in the City:
(1) Before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m.
on Monday through Friday.
(2) Before 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m.
on Saturday.
(3) All day on Sunday.
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(4) All day on New Years Day, Memorial
Day. Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day,
Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day as those days
have been established by the United States of
America.
(b)
The noise
level created by
such
activities shall not exceed the allowable exterior
median noise level specified in Section 4305(a) of
this Chapter, as applicable for the Noise Zone where
the activity occurs, plus 10 dBA.
(c) A permit may be issued authorizing
construction activity during the times prohibited by
this Section whenever it is found that the public
interest will be served thereb~. Applications for
such permi t shall be in wri ting, shall be
accompanied by an application fee in the amount of
$5.00, and shall set forth in detail facts showing
that the public interest will be served by the
issuance of such permit. Applications shall be made
to tb-e Building Officer; provided, however, with
respect to work \.lpon or involving the use of a
public street, alley, building, or other public
place under the jurisdiction of the General Services
Department, applications shall be made to the
C'rector of General Services..
No permit shall be
issued unless the application is first approved by
the Director of General Services, the Building
Officer, the Chief of police, and the City Manager.
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Anyone dissatisfied with the denial of such permit
may appeal to the City Council. The fees provided
for in this Section may be revised from time to time
by resolution of the City Council.
Cd) No permi t is required to perform
emergency work necessary to restore property to a
safe condition following a public calamity or work
required to protect persons or property from an
i~~inent exposure to danger or hazards.
SECTION 4315.
Restrictions on Leafblower
ODeration.
No person shall operate any motorized
leafblower within the City during the following
hours:
(a) 8:00 p.m. through 12:00 a.m. on any day.
(b) 12: 00 a.lO. through e: 00 a. 'm. on Monday
through Friday.
(c) 12:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. on Saturday
and Sunday.
Cd)
The noise level
created by
such
activities shall not exceed the allowable exterior
median noise level specified in section 4305(a) of
this Chapter, as applicable for the Noise Zone where
the activity occurs, plus 20 dBA.
SECTION 4316. ~~iminal_Re~edies. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this Chapter
shall be deemed quil ty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not
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