Q. My neighbors have a garage sale nearly every weekend. Seems hard to believe they generate that much "extra stuff" themselves. Are there any limits to how many times you can hold a garage sale? What kind of goods can be sold out of your yard or house? I sometimes see people who sell craft items or mangoes out of their driveway.

A. City officials said it sounds like too many garage sales, but the land-use ordinance does not specifically limit the number in a neighborhood, according to Art Challacombe, chief of customer service at the Planning and Permitting Department.

"If you have a garage sale every week, that's not legal," Challacombe said. Generally, he said, selling mangoes from your tree or crafts that you create won't prompt a problem but bringing the mangoes in from other places or buying figurines on eBay and reselling them might.

"Based on your description of the situation, the neighbor is running a business out of his/her home that is not a permitted use," he said.

Challacombe said city planners and inspectors look for a pattern of sales on residential properties. He said the city has interpreted the law to limit sales to no more than one garage sale every three months. The number to call to report illegal sales is 527-6308, he said.

Q. The ill-fated rumble strips on Pali Highway in Nu'uanu are long gone but the pavement markings indicating their presence — approaching from both directions — remain. Why?

A. State Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the rumble strips left in fall 2003 but the pavement words remained as a compromise between residents who were annoyed by the noise from the rumble strips and community leaders who wanted some sort of safety reminder for drivers.

Ishikawa said the pavement words are not flat, like other painted words, but are made of layers of tape and therefore "are in a way a kinder, gentler rumble strip than installed earlier." He said police and safety advocates felt that having the words there would help remind commuters and other drivers to slow down. He noted that similar raised letters are used on the highway in Nu'uanu to inform drivers of upcoming crosswalks.

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