Bill Text: HI HCR4 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: County property and public health ordinances; increase fines

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-29 - (H) Referred to EEP, JUD, referral sheet 11 [HCR4 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HCR4-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	4
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO INCREASE FINES FOR MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF county PROPERTY and public health ordinances.

 

 

 

WHEREAS, Hawai’i  is the most beautiful state in America and Honolulu is the loveliest capital city, and tourists and residents alike enjoy the beautiful scenery and charming neighborhoods; and

 

     WHEREAS, most residents take pains to maintain their properties, but there are those who neglect their homes and allow them to become run-down and a blight upon their neighborhoods; and

 

     WHEREAS, there may be cases where a wealthy person purchases dozens of homes in a small area, allow many of them to remain vacant, become run-down, broken into by vagrants, become overgrown, and cause neighboring homes to lose value; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City has, in one case, issued over 50 citations to one individual who owns 24 properties when the individual failed to obtain demolition permits, allowed the properties to become overgrown and blighted, and when other county ordinances were violated; and

 

     WHEREAS, a few violations may not seriously impact one neighborhood, but when an owner allows several properties to amass multiple uncorrected violations in a relatively short period of time, creating a public health and blight problem, then the sheer number becomes an egregious insult to other owners and may reduce the value of nearby homes; and

 

     WHEREAS, a reduction in the property value of homes in an entire neighborhood provides grounds for the reduction of real property taxes, creating a perfect storm of events in a time of global recession when the City and County of Honolulu, like other counties and the State, are facing budget problems; and

 

     WHEREAS, if a person owns at least five properties that have amassed five citations in a period of 5 years in a one square mile area, then it is incumbent on the City to assess a sufficiently significant fine or penalty to encourage that person to maintain his property in accordance with community standards or subdivision covenants; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to increase fines or penalties when an owner is cited for multiple violations for property violations within a certain time period and within a certain area; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Honorable Mufi Hannemann, Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, all Honolulu City Council members, the Kahala Community Association, the Kahala Business Association, and the Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board No. 3.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

County property and public health ordinances; increase fines