To: Jane Kim, District 6 Supervisor, Scott Wiener, District 8 Supervisor, Malia Cohen, District 10 Supervisor, Bill Strawn, Communications at DBI, RinconHillSF.org Blog, Rincon Hill neighborhood news, Tom Hui, Director of Dept. of Building I...
Stop DBI's Approvals of Harassment with Excessive Night Construction Noise Permitting
STOP ISSUING NIGHTTIME NOISY CONSTRUCTION PERMITS!
Please stop harassing and harming the health of residents by allowing the Department of Building Inspections to prioritize the profits and project schedule timeline of construction work in the middle of the night over the health, safety, and well-being of the thousands of residents. Our health is NOT for sale!
Normal construction work is allowed to occur between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. - a 13-hour long period of time that residents can accept in general. While the condo and apartment developers understandably want to maximize profits by working 17 hours or more per day to get their product finished and ready for sale or rent sooner rather than later, the City must not continue to prioritize the profit goals of developers before the health, safety, and well-being of residents as has been occurring since at least July 2014.
It should be with the highest possible regard for the health, safety, and well-being of neighbors that DBI must see no possible alternative such as delaying the work until the weekend if traffic is an issue before issuing any Nighttime Noisy Construction permits that harass and harm the health of residents every time one is issued in a residential neighborhood.
In July 2014, residents of The Metropolitan condominium complex suffered through sleep deprivation and disturbances due to DBI permitting nighttime noisy construction at one of four surrounding high-rise projects on 14 out of the total 23 workweek days - that's 61%!
In August 2014, residents of The Metropolitan condominium complex suffered through sleep deprivation and disturbances due to DBI permitting nighttime noisy construction at one of four surrounding high-rise projects on 16 out of the total 21 workweek days - that's 76%!
The excessive permitting of disturbances in the middle of the night is cruel and abusive of the City and County of San Francisco to families who chose to live in SoMa in order to help the environment by walking to work, taking transit, or otherwise limiting the need for a car.
STOP ISSUING NIGHTTIME NOISY CONSTRUCTION PERMITS!
Sincerely,
San Francisco Voters
Why is this important?
The City and County of San Francisco is directly harming the health and welfare of residents via the Department of Building Inspection issuing nighttime noisy construction permits to construction projects located within 500' of residential buildings.
See this news video about this issue: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Francisco-SoMa-Residents-Frustrated-Over-Construction-Noise-277983901.html
Night Noise permits are recorded here: http://sfdbi.org/night-noise-permits
There are many health, safety, and well-being harms created by the middle of the night harassment of construction noise that the City has been excessively permitting, such as (source: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss )
1) Sleepiness Causes Accidents
2) Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down
3) Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems, such as:
Heart disease
Heart attack
Heart failure
Irregular heartbeat
High blood pressure
Stroke
Diabetes
4) Sleepiness Is Depressing
5) Sleepiness Makes You Forgetful
6) Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight
7) Lack of Sleep May Increase Risk of Death
8) Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment
OUR HEALTH IS NOT FOR SALE.