The city Department of Planning and Permitting has told a Waianae area property owner to shut down an illegal gun range or face up to a $1,000 a day in fines.
The Hakimo Road property is owned by Juanito B. Lameg, according to the city’s Real Property Assessment Division. The 7-acre property includes three single-family homes and consists of 205,995 square feet of preservation land and 100,405 square feet of agricultural land. Lameg did not immediately return Honolulu Star-Advertiser messages seeking comment.
“Officers went to the address two weeks ago after receiving calls from nearby residents,” said Sarah Yoro, Honolulu Police Department spokesperson, in a statement to the Star- Advertiser. “After speaking with a male on the property, HPD contacted state and city agencies for follow-up investigation. We have not received complaints since that time.”
On Tuesday, DPP personnel inspected the property, “determined that the tenant was using the property as a gun range” and issued a notice of violation, according to a statement from DPP. The property owner faces an initial fine of up to $250 and daily fines of $250 if the violation is not corrected within 30 days. The notice reads, in part, “A gun range is being operated on this AG-2 agricultural zoned property. This is not permitted.”
On Friday, DPP inspectors returned to the site and determined that “grading work was done without a permit.” The DPP has initiated the process for issuing an notice of violation for the grading. The fines for that violation start at $750. If not corrected, they continue at a rate of $750 daily, according to the statement.
Curtis Lum, public information officer for DPP, said HPD had recently issued the tenant a verification to administer a firearms course. “However, this verification does not permit the use of the property as a gun range,” Lum said.
Honolulu Council member Andria Tupola received reports about the shooting range Feb. 1. Tupola then informed HPD’s District 8 major, who was aware of the situation and sent officers to investigate, according to a news release issued by Tupola’s office.
Evagelia Tuiloma, a neighbor on Hakimo Road, said in the news release, “We have people — kupuna, keiki, and families — that live on both sides of this gun range. We have hikers on this mountain where people are shooting. This is not safe.” Tuiloma said that on recent Sundays gunfire at the range continued from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tupola said in a statement that concern for the safety of residents prompted her to promptly contact DPP and HPD’s assistant chief. “This must stop immediately and both departments are taking swift action,” she said.
The Koko Head Shooting Complex Opens in a new tab, Oahu’s only public shooting range, is temporarily closed at a time when applicants seeking to apply for a concealed- carry weapon license must pass live-fire qualification tests.
The range was closed in mid-September for a $300,000 berm renovation project to reinforce the backstop behind the northern targets. In July a high-caliber bullet hit a dormant firearm slug within the northern berm that ricocheted into the window of a parked car. No injuries were reported.
Also contributing to the ongoing closure was a notice that several complex employees had received blood test results indicating elevated levels of lead, according to a statement issued by Honolulu Hale. Test results indicated that the lead levels were well below Occupational Safety and Health Administration and medically established levels of concern. Although the levels did not pose an immediate health risk, the employees were relocated out of an abundance of caution, which created a staffing shortage at the shooting complex, according to the statement.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation has reportedly hired an environmental consultant and an expert in outdoor range management, and is working in tandem with the state Department of Health and local law enforcement agencies to review and recommend best management practices for the facility.
