I applaud the city Department of Planning and Permitting for proposing significant fines on developers of monster homes here in Honolulu.

However, the real problem is that the developers and builders of these monster homes are only one-half of the problem. Once built — and there were many of these built before the Land Use Ordinance (LUO) was amended in 2018 — there is currently no way to enforce the occupancy limits specified in the LUO. It is an honor system that nobody honors.

Add an attestation or affidavit to the building permit application stipulating that the residence will be occupied in conformance with the LUO limitations on occupancy for new projects. Then enact a mechanism to force compliance on existing operators so that they are not allowed to profit from their illegal use of the building.

John Arnest

Wilhelmina Rise

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