Arbitrator is asked to rule on private Kakaako road fines

Two brothers who created a public uproar over control of several streets they own in Kakaako are not bowing to the state’s attempt to impose a $250,000 fine over the issue.

Cedric and Calvert Chun, who operate Kakaako Land Co. and charge for parking along several streets, recently asked for a quasi­-judicial hearing to contest fines that began accruing in January.

Kakaako Land filed a petition May 17 seeking a contested-case hearing before the Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency that regulates land use in the area and notified the company in April that it had until May 15 to pay $250,000.

HCDA imposed the fine under a state law created last year in response to community complaints over parking restrictions and maintenance issues for several streets owned by Kakaako Land. The law known as Act 009 requires that privately owned roads in Kakaako meet city construction and maintenance standards if the owner charges a fee for any use and the roads have been used by the public for at least six months.

Jonathan Ortiz of Honolulu law firm Ortiz &Associates contends the law is unconstitutional in part because it discriminates based on a specific geographic area and doesn’t apply to the owners of other private roads in Kakaako.

“Act 009 was tailored to only apply to KLC,” Ortiz said in the hearing petition.

The law allows HCDA to impose a $500 daily fine per street. The agency is applying the fines to portions of five roads: Queen, Kawaiahao, Ilaniwai, Cummins and Clayton streets. The $250,000 fine represents 100 days worth of fines as of April.

Kakaako Land also claims to own whole or partial segments of Kamakee, Waimanu, Curtis and Dreier streets.

Calvert Chun previously said he feels Kakaako Land is being treated unfairly and claims that plenty of customers are happy the company brought order to a chaotic situation where some small-business operators were claiming parking spaces on land they did not own.

Kakaako Land acquired deeds to eight streets in 1985 from the last remaining heir of Charles S. Desky, a man who subdivided sections of Kakaako more than 100 years ago. Then in 2010, the company began reserving and charging for street parking.

In response, several businesses filed a lawsuit against Kakaako Land in 2014 but the case has not yet gone to trial. State legislators crafted laws in recent years including Act 009 that so far have been ineffective. The city also is working on possible condemnation of the streets.

In a contested-case hearing, an arbitrator can decide whether the fine is appropriate. But it’s possible Kakaako Land or HCDA could have the matter ultimately decided in court.