Construction noises cause disruption to residents of Weyburn Terrace
Construction near the Weyburn Terrace apartment complex has lead to frustration from some residents. Noise has been reported as early as 7 a.m. despite the UCLA Housing contract promising construction noise would occur during “normal daytime working hours” only. (Joe Akira/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Martín Bilbao
Nov. 7, 2019 12:22 a.m.
This post was updated Nov. 8 at 4:23 p.m.
Early morning construction noise has prompted some Weyburn Terrace residents to voice their frustrations with UCLA Housing’s communication.
Construction at the Southwest Campus Apartments has been starting as early as 7 a.m. and lasting until 6 p.m. on weekdays, prompting some graduate students to express concerns that UCLA and their housing contracts did not adequately inform them of these hours.
Brian Dierze, a law student living at Weyburn Terrace, asked UCLA Housing in March what the hours of construction would be. UCLA Housing replied that the start times would begin as early as 7:45 a.m. from Monday through Friday, according to an emailed exchange reviewed by the Daily Bruin.
“In reality, they’ve been having construction every morning including Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. in the morning,” Dierze said.
Dierze said his housing contract stated the construction would occur during “normal daytime working hours,” but the contract did not specify exact hours.
“Normal daytime working hours is of course not 7 a.m. in the morning on a Saturday,” Dierze said. “So we’ve been basically trying to figure out what’s going on because we’ve been getting so much wrong information.”
UCLA Media Relations attributed dust and any noise disturbances before 7 a.m. to a contractor working for Frontier Communications, an internet provider not affiliated with UCLA, that has been installing fiber cables in an alley adjacent to the construction site, according to an email statement.
UCLA Media Relations added that the contractor working on the Southwest Campus Apartments has been in compliance with their approved work schedule of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
However, Frontier Communications issued a statement to The Bruin saying it does not have any conduit or manholes on Weyburn Terrace. Frontier Communications is not working on the Southwest Campus Apartment site or connected to the site, said the vice president of corporate communications and external affairs Javier Mendoza.
“Frontier Communications does not have any work going on in that area, so it’s not us,” Mendoza said.
The Southwest Campus Apartments, located at 900 Weyburn Place North, is expected to provide 321 graduate beds and 1,958 beds for upper-division undergraduates by 2022.
Jennifer Erickson, a law student living at Weyburn Terrace, said she felt the current construction hours are earlier than what would commonly be accepted as standard working hours.
“You normally think 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Erickson said. “I think it’s unfair for them to say normal working hours.”
Erickson added the construction noise made it difficult to study for her exams at her apartment complex.
“I found it really hard to study here during finals which is frustrating because I don’t like trekking all the way to the law library,” Erickson said.
Construction noise at the project is expected to range from low to moderate during November, according to official construction activity updates.
The noise levels have not been too much of a problem for Julia Jensen, a law student living in Weyburn Terrace, because her apartment windows face away from the construction. However, she added communication with UCLA Housing has been lacking.
“The annoying thing is you don’t really know when they are going to be out there, like what time they are going to start,” Jensen said. “I feel like they didn’t give us a lot of information before the construction started.”
Residents with questions about Housing projects, including the Southwest Campus Apartments, can call the construction hotline at 310-206-7800.
