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Building-permit delays unfortunately are a problem on Oahu, and the city Department of Planning and Permitting is doing the best it can to catch up with the backlog.
However, this does not give people the right to clear property and construct a house without a permit. A house is being built down the road from me without one. Notices of violations have been issued, which haven’t stopped construction at all. Apparently permits are only enforceable if you don’t have enough money to pay the fines levied. This particular site also requires a historic site inspection, which hasn’t been done either.
Monster homes are a problem that, along with unpermitted construction, should be dealt with more severely than even the latest proposal for monster homes (“City proposes greater fines for ‘monster homes’,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 24).
Tearing the structure down would send a clear message and definitely discourage any future building of this kind. Present fines are just a slap on the wrist to owners with a lot of money. Are permits required only from law-abiding citizens and lower-income property owners who can’t afford the fines?
Peter Anderson
Kailua
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