Bill to strengthen DPP enforcement advances at City Council

A bill that would strengthen enforcement against properties in violation of housing codes, such as so-called monster homes and illegal vacation rentals, advanced Thursday at the Honolulu City Council.

Council Chairman Tommy Waters introduced the bill that would codify how the Department of Planning and Permitting should respond in blatant cases.

“The purpose of Bill 17 is to make a policy statement that you need to address noncompliance with the housing code, specifically public nuisances, and that at a certain point the department must act,” he said.

“The intent is to set a bright-line rule where the department must take action.”

Currently, the DPP has discretion on fines, including adjusting and lowering penalties in certain cases. Under Bill 17, if a property owner has outstanding fines over $150,000 or has failed to pay fines for five years, the building official must attach the civil fines to fees such as vehicle registration, liquor licenses or driver’s license renewal and place a lien on the property.

Putting a lien on the property allows the city to enter the foreclosure process and then sell the property to recoup the owed funds.

While DPP already has the power to place liens on properties, and at times does, Waters explained that the bill would mandate the department to do so.

“While the enforcement of fines and penalties may vary depending on who is the director of DPP and the discretion that they use, in this case it would force action on the part of the DPP for extreme cases,” he said.

DPP Director Dean Uchida explained that there are properties with outstanding fines above $150,000 or that have not paid amounts due for five years. However, because it would take judicial action to go through with foreclosure on the property, it’s been difficult to reach a resolution.

“The problem is to go the next step to put a lien on the property and actually foreclose, you got to go to the court system,” he said. “(Corporation) Counsel is understaffed, we’re understaffed, so everything gets bogged down there.”

Waters examined whether the county could create legislation or amend a law to allow for foreclosure in these egregious cases without going through the judicial system. However, because the power of nonjudicial foreclosure is granted by state law, the county does not have the authority to enact those changes.

That’s why Uchida plans to go to the state Legislature to attempt to amend the rules on nonjudicial foreclosure. He anticipates it would likely take at least a year to draft the policy and get it passed by state lawmakers.

In the meantime, Uchida said, the department is not rolling back any of the fines, and it’s collecting what property owners in violation of housing codes have accrued.

Bill 17 passed out of the Zoning and Planning Committee unanimously and will be voted on by the full Council. The next full Council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 11.