Comment on Neighbors seeks relief from construction projects’ night noise

After months of listening to Rincon Hill residents complain that after-hours construction was disrupting their sleep and rattling their nerves, the city’s Department of Building Inspection on Friday stopped issuing new night noise permits. For the neighborhood’s 2,000 residents, most of whom live in a smattering of relatively new condo towers such as One Rincon Hill or the Metropolitan, the moratorium promised a respite from the constant clanging, beeping and jackhammering that could drive even a sound sleeper to the Best Western at Fisherman’s Wharf. After four days, the building officials reversed course Tuesday, saying they would start issuing night noise permits again, although with more notice and tighter rules. While most residents moved to Rincon Hill because they wanted to live in a dense, new high-rise neighborhood, what sounds good in practice often is less palatable in reality. Mission Bay is crawling with heavy construction equipment — not just from thousands of new housing units but a new $1.6 billion UCSF hospital as well. While Kim said she didn’t request the ban, on Oct.