Building violators could go to jail under bill approved by Honolulu City Council

Ignoring a city order to halt construction due to building or land-use violations could land a contractor or property owner in jail under a bill passed unanimously by the Honolulu City Council Wednesday.

Bill 60 makes it a misdemeanor for a person or company to ignore a stop-work order issued by the Department of Planning and Permitting. Penalties include a fine of up to $2,000 and one year in jail “for each and every day or portion thereof during which the violation is committed, continued or permitted.”

What’s more, offenders would be barred from applying for any building permits from DPP until the violations that led to the stop-work order are cured.

It’s unclear if Mayor Kirk Caldwell will sign the bill.

The bill was introduced by Council Chairman Ernie Martin amid an uproar over large-scale “monster houses,” a number of which violated building or land-use laws, invading older, quieter residential neighborhoods.

Submitting testimony in support of the bill Wednesday were the Building Industry Association of Hawaii and HI Good Neighbors, a group formed by residents from several neighborhoods that have been inundated with large-scale houses.

“Making it a crime for those who choose to violate a stop-work order is befitting of the action,” said HI Good Neighbors representative Christine Otto Zaa. “If they choose to keep building after being warned and cited, then they deserve the punishment and should’t be allowed to obtain any permits until the violation is corrected.”

Gladys Quinto Marrone, BIA Hawaii executive director, noted that DPP is in the process of drafting new rules pertaining to large-scale houses. A draft of the bill was recently completed by the department and handed to the members of the Honolulu Planning Commission, who will review it and issue recommendations to the Council for possible action.

Actively enforcing existing land-use and building codes “will hopefully discourage those who are considering ‘monster homes’ prior to the administration, Planning Commission and the Council (adopting) permanent ordinances to address this issue,” Quinto Marrone said.

DPP earlier reported that from Jan. 1 to June 22, it had issued 113 stop-work orders that accompanied notices of violation.

Last week, Caldwell signed into law Bill 53, which dramatically increased fines for construction without a permit to an initial penalty 10 times the amount of the building permit fee or $10,000, whichever is greater, for each day the violation exists. Previously, a notice of order issued for violating any part of the building code came with a flat $2,000 fine, plus $2,000 a day for ongoing violations.

Introduced by Council Zoning Chairwoman Kymberly Pine, Bill 53 also bars offenders from being able to negotiate lower fines with DPP and makes it clear the department has the authority to demand a builder tear down an entire house or portion of it if the work continues after a notice of violation and stop-work order have been imposed.

Last week, Councilman Trevor Ozawa introduced Resolution 18-212, urging DPP to order the owner and contractor of a large-scale house being built at 2930 Date St. in Kapahulu to demolish any structures there.

The project on an apartment-zoned lot (so technically not a “monster house”) became the subject of scrutiny when the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported in April that much of the structure had been built after a citation and stop-work order were issued.

Contractor Brilliant Construction Inc. told the Star-Advertiser he had a pending building permit application but proceeded before it was approved because the delay would have busted the construction budget.

DPP officials said the contractor has yet to resubmit an application with required changes, and as of Wednesday had accrued $191,000 in fines in addition to $20,350 in fines for an illegal concrete wall.