Question: How do I find out who is responsible for cleaning up overgrown lots that are full of weeds and garbage that are obstructing public sidewalks? I don’t know whether all these overgrown lots are private property or owned by the state or county or what, but someone should be responsible for keeping them in better condition.

Answer: According to Chapter 14, Article 20 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, maintenance responsibility for the area between the pavement of a street and adjacent property line lies with the abutting property owner. This applies whether there is a concrete sidewalk, curb, gutter, planter strip or an unimproved area between a paved street and an adjacent property line, explained Ross Sasamura, director of the city’s Department of Facility Maintenance.

You can find out who owns any Oahu property in question by searching the Honolulu Land Information System at gis.hicentral.com. It’s simple to search a property by street address (or by tax map key, if you have it), generating an instant report that includes the owner’s name, if it is private property, or the county, state or federal agency, if the parcel is government-owned.

Getting back to the municipal ordinance: Under Section 14-20.2, a property owner who fails to properly maintain the public sidewalk abutting his or her property can be cited by the city. Once the city notifies the property owner, that owner has 20 days to clean up the sidewalk. If the property owner fails to do so, city crews or contractors can do it at the property owner’s expense. Enforcement of this ordinance falls to the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting, Sasamura said.

Q: If we drop off a letter, for example, at the Mililani post office that has a Mililani post office box address, do we need to affix postage? I say, “Of course we do,” but my wife says, “Since we have already delivered it to the post office, no stamp is necessary.” I know I’m right, right? — A Loyal Reader

A: Yes. Duke Gonzales, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Honolulu, explains:

“Your Loyal Reader is correct: The letter in his example must contain the proper postage in order for us to handle, process and deliver it, whether its intended destination is Mililani or Maine. Mail without postage is either returned to the sender for proper postage or delivered, but with postage due.”

Gonzales pointed to a reference from the Domestic Mail Manual that explains the procedure at 808ne.ws/postagerule.

He added, “Your readers may be interested to know that even mail intended for a P.O. box at the collection post office is sent to a centralized processing facility for cancellation and sorting before being redirected back to the local post office for delivery. A complex network of postal personnel, machines and vehicles handles and transports every mail piece from its sender to its recipient. All in all, proper postage is a small price to pay for the efforts expended to ensure the safe and timely delivery of a mail piece.”

Auwe

Auwe to inconsiderate neighbors who leave their small dog inside all day to bark, bark, bark and whine, whine, whine while they are at work. It’s unfair to the dog and it’s unfair to the neighbors. Some people work nights, you know! … Plus, this is a violation of our apartment building’s rules. I’ve tried talking to them, but they don’t care because they don’t hear it. Of course, the dog is fine once they get home. — Sleepless

Mahalo

I know there will be plenty of complaints about traffic, security, park closures, etc., so I want to get this out there now and emphasize the positive: Thank you to all the people who care enough about our planet to participate in the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu. There is so much work to do, and we all can help get it done. — Hopeful environmentalist

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.