Honolulu County, HI Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 21-5.70-7 sets development standards for personal-service uses across the Land Use Ordinance. In the apartment mixed-use zoning district specifically, subsection (a)(1)(A) requires that any service involving amplified music or music instruction be housed in a fully enclosed, sound-attenuated structure and limits its hours of operation to 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m., with the density requirements of Table 21-3.3 and § 21-3.90-1(c)(3) applying on top of that. A second, separate buffer rule kicks in whenever a personal-service use of any kind sits close to housing: under (a)(3), if the business's principal entrance is less than 75 feet, or its parking area less than 20 feet, from an adjoining lot in the country, residential, apartment, or apartment mixed-use zoning district, the operator must install and maintain a solid wall or fence at least 6 feet high, or an equivalent landscape buffer such as a screening hedge, at the common property line, and again the 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. hours apply.

A business that wants to run later than 10:00 p.m. is not automatically barred; it may seek a minor conditional use permit to extend hours. Chapter 21's general enforcement provision, ROH § 21-2.150-1, backs these standards: a first violation of any LUO requirement, including this one, is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 plus either 32 hours of community service or 48 hours of imprisonment, rising to a fine of up to $1,000 with 64 hours of community service or 96 hours of imprisonment for a second conviction within five years, and continued noncompliance after conviction lets each additional day count as a separate offense.