The city could soon impose stiffer fines on homeowners who ignore repeated notices to clear weeds, trash or other waste from their properties, under a bill approved by the City Council Zoning and Planning Committee on Wednesday.
The maximum fine the city could issue for an overgrown, trashy yard would go up to $5,000 a day from the current $1,000 a day.
The measure is widely known as the "Kawamoto Bill," after Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto, who has been fined for numerous violations on 21 Kahala properties he owns. But Councilman Stanley Chang, who introduced Bill 3 (2013), said it was prompted by complaints the city has received throughout Oahu.
The committee unanimously passed the measure, which now goes to a final vote of the Council on April 17.
Council members said they worked with Department of Planning and Permitting staff to come up with the bill. Department officials said they support it.
Stockpiled waste is "an issue that affects the entire island," Chang told committee members. "We get complaints about nondisposal of weeds, garbage, trash and waste from all parts of our district, and I hear stories about parts of the entire island that this affects.
"We believe that by giving DPP a bigger stick to address the most serious, repeat chronic offenders, that our residents will be able to look forward to cleaner and better neighborhoods with higher quality of life and better property values (and) more attractive, safe communities."
Councilman Breene Harimoto had earlier raised concerns about how a $5,000-a-day fine would affect homeowners on fixed or lower incomes.
But he said Thursday he is satisfied by assurances from city officials that the maximum would be imposed only "when a situation warranted it."
City officials said Kawamoto has been fined $42,000 for various violations on 21 Kahala properties, including failure to clear overgrown weeds, garbage or other waste. He had paid all but $3,000 of it as of mid-February, the city said.
A new wrinkle in the bill would allow for the city to issue an order to a landowner not only via certified mail, but also by publicizing the order in a newspaper of general circulation or by posting the order on the landowner’s property.
The violation notice warns that noncompliance within 30 days could result in a fine and that the city may remove the offending weeds or waste — and charge the property owner for the work.
Also advancing out of the committee Wednesday was a bill allowing for "limited-service" hotels in business districts in Central and West Oahu.
Bill 75 (2012) is supported by University of Hawaii-West Oahu officials and some labor unions, who say no-frills accommodations are badly needed by business-class travelers, sports teams and families on a budget.
It is opposed by Local 5, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, which argues that limited-service hotels do not provide the same number or types of jobs as full-service hotels.
Council Zoning and Planning Chairman Ikaika Anderson said in support of the bill, "In this particular case, I strongly believe it is much better to provide a certain number of jobs than to provide no jobs at all."
A clause requiring applications for limited-use hotels with more than 180 units to go before the Council for a conditional-use permit was deleted in the latest draft of the bill. The hotels would now be required to only get approval from the Department of Planning and Permitting following a mandatory public hearing.
