QUESTION: Is it OK to paint street numbers on the curb? A couple of men came through Manoa asking whether we wanted our street numbers painted on our curb. I declined since I did not know whether it was legal to do so and have prominent street numbers anyway. Decades ago I improved my curbside area with a mortar mix to fill in the cracks, then painted the curb. One of my neighbors complained to the city, and I got a nasty letter to remove the paint and mortar. How can I be denied doing this if painting street addresses is allowed?

ANSWER: Painting house numbers on the curb is allowed by law, while any improvements to the city’s sidewalk areas must be approved by the Department of Planning and Permitting, said Art Challacombe, chief of customer services.

"This is to ensure that public safety is not compromised and that the city is not exposed to additional liability," he said. He also noted that curbs are painted various colors for traffic and safety reasons, e.g., yellow for loading zones, red for no parking.

Under Section 2-9.2 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, homeowners are allowed to paint house numbers on the curb fronting their property as a supplement to house numbers that are required to be displayed on their homes.

However, the house numbers have to be painted within a 6-inch-by-12-inch area on the top of the curb; within three feet of the driveway flare; and using black Arabic numerals on a white background.

QUESTION: I live near Maunalani Park on Wilhelmina Rise and was wondering when the renovated recreation center will be open to the public. My daughter and I had waited a long time for the facility to be renovated, and it looks wonderful. I do not know what to say to her when she asks me why the nice building is never open for her to play in. It seems like such a waste for the city to spend the thousands of dollars to renovate the facility and not be able to open it for the public.

ANSWER: Maunalani Community Park and its multipurpose/meeting room have been open to the public since renovations finally were completed in 2007. The park had been closed since 2002 before that.

Because no permanent recreation director is assigned there, the room is not open to the public as a "drop-in facility," said Craig Mayeda, administrator of Parks Maintenance and Recreation Services.

It is available to the public by permit for noncommercial meetings and activities. It cannot be used for parties, Mayeda said.

There is a $15-per-hour attendant services fee to open and close the room. Arrangements can be made for use of Maunalani Community Park by contacting Kaimuki Community Park at 733-7351.

Mayeda pointed out parking is "very limited" in the area.

DRUG RETURN

In Saturday’s "Kokua Line" about what to do with unwanted prescription drugs, we said that if you can’t take the medication to a collection site or return to a pharmacy, they could be disposed of in household trash.

Keith Kamita, deputy director of law enforcement for the state Department of Public Safety, pointed out returning drugs is not an option.

State law prohibits pharmacies from taking back prescription drugs, so, "A pharmacy can be fined or a pharmacist arrested for accepting prescription drugs that have already been dispensed back into the pharmacy," he said.