HONOLULU- Although it’s against the law to draft legislation against a specific person, two measures heard Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee target blighted homes in Kahala owned by Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto.
One bill, SB2495, makes property blight a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
The other bill, SB2496, holds property owners liable if blight causes an injury or negatively impacts property values. That specific measure targets anyone with three homes within a one mile radius. According to city property tax records, Kawamoto owns twenty-eight homes along Kahala Avenue, many of them in a state of disrepair.
"Coconut trees aren't trimmed (and) houses (are) literally falling down or partially falling down,” said Scotty Anderson, chairman of the Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board.
Records provided by the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting show Kawamoto paid about $35,000 in fines last year for six violations, all of them concerning properties in Kahala. All the violations, except one issued in 2010 for an abandoned driveway, were eventually corrected.
However for homeowners in Kahala, a few thousand dollars in fines against a billionaire like Kawamoto doesn’t do much good.
Kahala resident and former City Council candidate Richard Turbin told the Judiciary Committee the two bills would be powerful tools in dealing with unscrupulous billionaire investors.
“That will send a clear message to these investors that they have to cleanup their properties,” said Turbin. “It permits neighbors to band together to bring civil liability cases against these investors who are often mega-billionaires and have unlimited resources.”
Part-time Kahala resident Rose Rafael has called Kawamoto her neighbor the past several years. She says the lack of upkeep of two nearby homes has resulted in vermin moving into the area.
“This is where rats breed,” said Rafael, while pointing to a large pile of dead leaves and palm fronds. “This has been there over a year like this - it's awful!”
Area residents are also concerned about Kawamoto’s choice in art, which is also addressed in both bills as a possible display of “indecent matter.” Large marble statues depicting bare breasted women are scattered throughout several of the billionaire’s homes in the 4600 block of Kahala Avenue.
“I suppose he has a right to put those on wherever he wants to,” said Anderson. “They are unusual at best.”
However the two property blight bills face an uphill climb toward final passage in the state Legislature. The attorney general's office testified anyone charged with a misdemeanor for property blight could request a jury trial. Meanwhile, there's no legal definition in Hawaii of what actually constitutes blight.
“There's a lot of considerations that still need to go into this and there should be further review and discussion,” said Caron Inagaki, a deputy attorney general.
Both of the bills were deferred by the committee to determine if language could be inserted or clarified to address any outstanding concerns by the AG’s office.
“Quite frankly it would seem to me that a lot of this can be done by the City Council,” said Judiciary Chairman Sen. Clayton Hee. “Although I don't live (in Kahala) I can understand the way it looks is not the way the neighbors would prefer it to be.”Register to log on and leave a commentHave a news tip? Contact Andrew Pereira at 368-7273. Follow Andrew on Twitter at Khon_Reporter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndrewPereiraKhon2
