The city has placed a lien on a Makiki property and is considering foreclosing because the owner has accumulated fines totaling nearly $143,000 for failing to comply with an order to clear the lot of trash and two abandoned cars.

Similar foreclosure proceedings also may be levied against a Kaimuki property owner who owes nearly $200,000 in fines. City officials had to obtain a court order to pay a private contractor nearly $10,000 to remove more than 21 tons of rubbish from that property, on 2nd Avenue, last week.

A former Makiki neighbor, James Ward, 85, said conditions at 1421 Pensacola St. are as bad as that at the Kaimuki property.

Ward said he has complained to the city about the condition of the property across from the Hawaii Mission Academy, where two rusting vehicles have been abandoned on the front lawn.

"It’s deplorable," said Ward, who recently moved from the area after living in Makiki for 15 years. "The trash is piled up to the ceiling inside the house.

"You cannot see into the windows, trees overgrown. Two cars were just rusting away in the front yard."

Ward said that during walks by the property on his way to the market, church or post office, he had seen feral cats, roaches and rats. "Maybe the cats were there just trying to catch the rats."

City records show the house was built in 1939 and that the 5,000-square-foot lot is owned by Rollin Yee.

Curtis Lum, spokesman for the city Department of Planning and Permitting, said building inspectors issued a notice of violation Aug. 7, 2006, because "the property was littered with television sets, mattresses, fish tanks and other miscellaneous items."

Some of the items were removed, Lum said.

However, after a follow-up inspection a year later, the city issued a notice of violation in September 2007 and assessed Yee $50. Because the property was never cleaned, daily fines of $50 continued, Lum added. Yee owed $142,750 as of Wednesday.

The city placed a lien on the property and also has flagged Yee’s driver’s license and motor vehicle registration, neither of which he will be able to renew until the fines have been paid.

City inspectors will continue to investigate the situation, Lum added.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser tried unsuccessfully several times in the past week to contact Yee.

Tuesday, Pacific Junk Removal completed clearing debris from the 2,400-square-foot Kaimuki property at 1115 2nd Ave.

The windows and doorways were boarded up to prevent squatters from using it. Police and neighbors have been asked by city officials to report suspicious activities and illegal dumping.

Lum said 18 truckloads of trash and recyclable metals and electronics, weighing 21.5 tons, were hauled away from the property about a block makai of Waialae Avenue during the weeklong cleanup operation.

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 payment of property taxes is current.

A court order for the cleanup work was sought after the owner, Laura Matsuzaki, 73, failed to rid the property of rubbish the city said was unsanitary and created a fire and safety hazard.

The city has said Matsuzaki’s property has violated city building and health codes since 2008, and she has been fined nearly $200,000. The Star-Advertiser has been unable to reach Matsuzaki, who is reportedly on the mainland.