A recent Kokua Line column (808ne.ws/abutown) about the responsibilities of property owners to maintain land abutting public sidewalks generated a flurry of follow-up questions from some who assumed that certain rights accompanied those duties.

However, property owners don’t have a general right to reserve city property for their use or decorate it as they see fit simply because they are keeping it neat. As the first column explained, responsibility for the area between the pavement of a street and adjacent property line lies with the abutting property owner, according to Chapter 14, Article 20 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. This applies whether there is a concrete sidewalk, curb, gutter, planter strip or an unimproved area between a paved street and an adjacent property line.

Art Challacombe, deputy director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, answered the follow-up questions:

Question: I know it is my responsibility to keep the unimproved area between my property and the street clean. My interpretation is that because it is my responsibility to maintain it, it is also my right to landscape it as I see fit. Is that correct? For example, if I have to plant flowers or place decorative rocks, I can do that, right?

Answer: No. “The area between the private property line and the curb is a part of the street right-of-way if the street is owned by the City and County of Honolulu, and the abutting property owners do not have a right to landscape it as they see fit. Decorative rocks or any other objects are prohibited. A property owner who wishes to landscape and plant items should submit a surface encroachment variance application with the Department of Planning and Permitting. The property owner may also contact the DPP for information on what might be allowed under this variance.”

Q: I live in Aiea. The unimproved area between the street and my property is about 6 feet wide. I planted grass there. That’s where I park my car. I don’t let anybody else park their car there. That’s legal, right?

A: No. “The area between the street and private property line is not for the exclusive use of the abutting property owner if the street is city owned. Parking is prohibited in the unimproved sidewalk area because it can impede pedestrians, obstruct access to utilities and impact public safety.”

Q: If it is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain the area between my property and the street, and the area is large enough to park a car, can that area count as parking under the ADU rules?

A: No. “Again, no parking is allowed in the unimproved sidewalk if the street is owned by the city. Also, the ADU ordinance requires one off-street parking stall for the ADU unit, but none is required if the ADU is in a transit-oriented development zone (a half-mile from a rail transit station).”

ADU stands for accessory dwelling unit, built on the same lot as an existing residential property. The unit may be attached to or detached from the main house.

Q: Was anyone ever arrested for killing those albatrosses at Kaena Point?

A: No. The case remains under active investigation, said Dan Dennison, a spokesman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The slaughter of vulnerable, ground-nesting adult birds; destruction of their eggs and nests; and theft of monitoring equipment in late December at Oahu’s remote Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve stunned conservationists and others for the senselessness and brutality of the crimes.

The Laysan albatross is listed as near threatened under the IUCN Red List and is a federally protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and protected under state wildlife rules, according to the DLNR.

The nonprofit Pacific Rim Conservation monitors the colony. President Eric VanderWerf said the group no longer seeks tips in the case because “as far as I know, the investigators have all the information they need.” He declined to name any suspects.

He hopes for a resolution soon, saying, “We are not at all satisfied with the pace of the prosecution. It has taken a long time, and it is not clear why. … It would be good for everyone involved to resolve it quickly. That includes the perpetrators.”

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.