New lines of attack against monster home construction continue to evolve at Honolulu Hale, as city officials seek better ways to rein in the proliferation of de facto apartment buildings among single-family homes.

The latest proposal would simply super-size the fines for violating city ordinances. Penalties would rise from $250 a day (up to a total of $2,000) to an initial fine of $25,0000, plus $10,000 a day per violation.

It’s a good idea. The current fine “may be a negligible cost of doing business for monster home developers,” said Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP), who brought the proposed bill before the city Planning Commission.

Apuna is right. The fines certainly haven’t scared off scofflaws. And $2,000 is chicken feed compared to, say, the amount of bribes given to five former DPP employees, since convicted and sentenced — from $28,000 to $100,000 in some cases. This suggests that perhaps the city undervalues the “cost of doing business.”

Moreover, cheaters cost taxpayers money. DPP has to invest funds and time enforcing its regulations, including the extra work involved in revoking a building permit and defending its decision on appeal. It would be nice if taxpayers could get more of that money back.

DPP’s draft ordinance would address areas of the law where builders may be tempted to cheat: development standards and permitted uses and structures, such as maximum heights, height setbacks, floor-area ratios, or the number of bathrooms permitted inside a home based on the number of dwellings, units or lot size.

It’s fertile ground for sneaking past the rules.

“I think what we’re finding is a lot of the time (builders) think it’s worth the risk to put something on plans that make it look like they’re complying with the Land Use Ordinance, with the zoning code, with building codes,” DPP Land Use Permitting Division Chief Elizabeth Krueger told the Planning Commission in a meeting on Wednesday. “And then in the field they’re either not building according to plan or, once it’s up, we’re realizing that something in the plan was not (followed).”

The commission rightly voted to recommend the bill to the City Council. Increasing the fines significantly to curb bad behavior has the virtue of simplicity.

Other measures targeting monster homes currently before the Council appear less so.

Bill 44 would punish anyone who knowingly makes a “false statement” to a city investigator or inspector. However, it may be preempted by state law, which already prohibits lying to authorities.

It also creates a more complex path for enforcement, as alleged violations may prove more difficult to prosecute. “The violations would create an additional administrative burden for the DPP and the Prosecutor’s Office,” Apuna said.

That’s not a good thing for a department with a reputation for being unable to process even legitimate permit applications in a timely way (hence, the attractiveness of bribes to cut to the front of the line).

But will heftier fines be strong enough? Some have called for the ultimate hammer: demolition.

DPP has resisted calls for complete demolition of monster homes, “which could be considered a legal taking, and could create a prolonged legal process.”

Fair enough. But partial demolition should be considered, where appropriate.

In testimony on Bill 44, Todd Hassler, board president for the American Institute of Architects, Honolulu Chapter, argued that “for zoning and building code violations, the correct punishment is demolition of the portion(s) in violation and legalized reconstruction.” Anything less, Hassler said, would result in a bill “not worth passing.”

Council members continue to weigh amendments to address Bill 44’s issues. In the meantime, the Council should take up the DPP’s draft ordinance and give it full consideration.