A state agency is getting closer to enforcing a new Hawaii law aimed at a private company charging for parking along several streets in Kakaako long used by the public.
The law enacted in May applies only to privately owned roads in Kakaako that have been used by the public for at least six months, and requires that these roads meet city standards if the owner charges a fee for any use.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency regulating development in Kakaako, attempted to enforce the law in August when it notified the owner of eight streets that it was violating the law and had 30 days to correct the matter or face enforcement.
To date, that road owner, Kakaako Land Co., has not responded to the letter or ended its parking fees or improved its roads to city standards.
Some community residents and business owners have wondered why.
It turns out that HCDA’s executive director didn’t have the authority to enforce the law because it is a statute created by the Legislature as opposed to an agency rule. So HCDA’s board needed to provide such authority. On Wednesday, the board did that.
Still, enforcement may not be quick. Aedward Los Banos, HCDA’s executive director, said there is no timetable yet for issuing a notice of violation permitted by the board.
“There’s still some work that has to be done,” he said.
The law doesn’t specify penalties for violations, but HCDA has cited its general governing statute under which it can impose fines up to $500 a day and seek a court injunction to prevent violations.
Meanwhile, some frustrated community members want fast action.
“The residents and businesses of the Kakaako Community Development District and others who visit and do business in Kakaako have been suffering too long,” Sharon Moriwaki, leader of the community group Kakaako United and the next state senator to represent the area, said in written testimony to HCDA.
Stewart Chong, an auto repair shop owner on Kawaiahao Street, said in written testimony that he has paid Kakaako Land $9,161 for parking over nearly three years while road conditions are so bad that pothole debris gets kicked up into parked cars and pedestrians.
“Kawaiahao Street should be deemed undrivable,” he wrote. “Someone needs to take responsibility of properly maintaining this roadway.”
Bringing the roads up to city standards could be cost-prohibitive for Kakaako Land, as the standards cover road width, drainage, sidewalks, underground utilities and other things lacking for the company’s streets.
Kakaako Land was unwilling to comment on HCDA’s August action but previously called the law “legally questionable.”
The company formed by brothers Calvert and Cedric Chun claims to own whole or partial segments of Queen, Kawaiahao, Ilaniwai, Waimanu, Curtis, Dreier, Cummins and Kamakee streets. The company began charging for parking in 2010, which sparked complaints and led several businesses in 2014 to initiate a lawsuit that has not gone to trial.
The new law followed a few unsuccessful attempts by the Legislature to resolve the clash. Yet not everyone supports HCDA enforcement. John Kobelanski, a resident in the Imperial Plaza condo tower that borders Dreier and Kawaiahao streets, opposed the board’s action and suggested that the state is trying to extort a private business.
“Isn’t extortion illegal?” Kobelanski said in written testimony. “If it’s not, it should be.”
