Bill Text: HI HCR18 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Property and public health ordinances; increase fines
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-04 - (H) The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred. [HCR18 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2011-HCR18-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
18 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO assess maximum FINES, settlements, and liens FOR MULTIPLE and egregious VIOLATIONS OF county PROPERTY and public health and safety ordinances.
WHEREAS, Hawai’i is the most beautiful state in America and Honolulu is the loveliest capital city, and tourists and residents alike enjoy the beautiful scenery and charming neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, most residents take pains to maintain their properties, but there are those who neglect their homes and allow them to become run-down; and
WHEREAS, there may be cases where a person or other legal entity may own five, ten, or more separate properties within a one-mile radius where some homes have been allowed to remain vacant, to be broken into and/or used by vagrants, to become overgrown, and may cause neighboring homes to lose value; and
WHEREAS, as an example, the City has issued 53 citations to a property owner in one neighborhood who has failed to obtain timely demolition permits, allowed several properties to become overgrown and blighted, and allowed other county ordinances to be violated; and
WHEREAS, the State Department of Health has also been called in to investigate potential health violations on the properties of this property owner; and
WHEREAS, a few violations may not seriously impact one neighborhood, but when an owner allows several properties to amass multiple uncorrected violations in a relatively short period of time, then the sheer number becomes an egregious insult to other owners and could reduce the value of nearby homes; and
WHEREAS, a reduction in the property value of homes in an area could provide grounds for the reduction of real property taxes, creating a perfect storm of events in a time of global recession when the City and County of Honolulu, like other counties and the State, are facing budget problems; and
WHEREAS, if a person or other legal entity owns at least five properties that incur three violations within a one-mile radius within a five year period, then it is incumbent on the City to assess a sufficiently significant fines or liens to encourage that person to maintain his or her property in accordance with community standards or subdivision covenants; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to assess maximum fines and issue liens when an owner is cited for at least three violations over a five-year period for property violations within a one mile radius; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Corporation Counsel is requested to settle such cases keeping in mind the egregious nature of the violations and consider the maximum amount of fines assessed by the Department of Planning and Permitting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Honorable Peter Carlisle, Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, Honolulu City Council members, the Kahala Community Association, the Kahala Business Association, and the Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board No. 3.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Property and public health ordinances; increase fines
