Amplified music rules in East Honolulu, HI — also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances — set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Hawaii's state bass-noise statute (HRS 342F-31.5) deems nighttime bass sound over 60 dBC (50 dBC near residential or mixed-use areas) to exceed the maximum permissible nighttime level. Locally, the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu make it unlawful to operate a sound-reproducing device on public property or a vehicle so that it is audible 30 feet away.
Amplified music and bass are addressed both by state statute and by the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (ROH) that apply to East Honolulu. HRS 342F-31.5 directs the Department of Health to use both the dBC and dBA measurement systems and provides that, in any urban land use district, a bass-sound level (dBC weighting) of more than sixty decibels measured at a complainant's site is deemed to exceed the maximum permissible sound at nighttime; where the complainant's site is in or close to a mixed-use or residential area, the nighttime maximum is fifty decibels dBC. 'Nighttime' for this statute is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and county liquor commissions and the department may enforce nighttime dBC levels in urban districts. At the local level, ROH Title 9, Chapter 41, Article 6 (Noise Control), section 41-6.1, prohibits playing or operating any radio, tape player, or other sound-reproducing device on public property or on a vehicle on a public street if the sound is audible at a distance of thirty feet from the device.
State bass-noise violations are enforced through HAR 11-46 penalties (up to $10,000 per day under 11-46-16) and by county liquor commissions for establishments; ROH 41-6 sound-device violations are petty misdemeanors/citations under the Honolulu code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
East Honolulu, HI
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East Honolulu, HI
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East Honolulu, HI
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East Honolulu, HI
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East Honolulu, HI
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East Honolulu, HI
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Honolulu County.
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