Noisy Air Conditioners Disturb Laguna Honda Neighbors

Loud air conditioners on top of Laguna Honda Hospital are annoying nearby residents.

Buzz, whir, and wham.

Choose your words -- the noise from the Laguna Honda Hospital air conditioning unit is hell on earth for neighbors in San Francisco's West of Twin Peaks and Midtown Terrace neighborhoods, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The issue isn't just that the large air conditioning units installed on the roof of the hospital following its recent remodel can click on at any time, even at 3 o'clock in the morning. The issue is that they don't so much "click" as roar, according to neighbor Terry Thompson, 49, whose backyard and rear deck abut the hospital on Dellbrook Avenue, according to the newspaper.

The hospital was remodeled after a voter initiative was approved in 1999. The refurbished hospital opened in 2010. The air conditioning unit operates at 47 to 50 decibels, according to hospital spokesman Marc Slavin -- and that's well within legal limits.

Nonetheless, Slavin said the hospital will try to make the generators quieter to soothe frazzled neighbors, who say that the noise disrupts what used to be a peaceful neighborhood.

In the meantime, Thompson, who is active in neighborhood affairs, unfurled a large yellow banner on his house, outlining his position: "LHH noise disturbs us!"

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