21 tons of trash cleared from abandoned house

A city contractor Tuesday completed a weeklong job of removing 21.5 tons of debris from an abandoned Kaimuki house, the target of complaints from neighbors and officials about unsanitary conditions and fire and safety hazards, according to Curtis Lum, spokesman for the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

Pacific Junk Removal cleared the 2,400-square-foot property at 1115 2nd Ave. and boarded up the house Tuesday, Lum said.

Lum said 18 truckloads of trash and recyclable metals and electronics were hauled away from the property, about a block makai of Waialae Avenue. The cleanup started July 21.

City officials are exploring ways to recoup the cleanup costs and might have to resort to seizing the property and selling it under a court order. City officials say payments of property taxes are current.

The company is working under a court order after the owner, Laura Matsuzaki, failed to rid the property of rubbish and trash, which the city said is unsanitary and created a fire and safety hazard.

The city has said Matsuzaki’s property has violated city building and health codes since 2008; Matsuzaki has been fined nearly $200,000.

Police and neighbors have been asked by city officials to report further suspicious activities and illegal dumping.

For nearly two decades, neighbors have complained about rats, cockroaches and smells of urine and feces coming from the property, which had been abandoned.