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New lines of attack against monster home construction continue to evolve at Honolulu Hale, as city officials seek better ways to rein in the proliferation of de facto apartment buildings among single-family homes.
The latest proposal would simply super-size the fines for violating city ordinances. Penalties would rise from $250 a day (up to a total of $2,000) to an initial fine of $25,0000, plus $10,000 a day per violation.
It’s a good idea. The current fine “may be a negligible cost of doing business for monster home developers,” said Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP), who brought the proposed bill before the city Planning Commission.
Apuna is right. The fines certainly haven’t scared off scofflaws. And $2,000 is chicken feed compared to, say, the amount of bribes given to five former DPP employees, since convicted and sentenced — from $28,000 to $100,000 in some cases. This suggests that perhaps the city undervalues the “cost of doing business.”
Moreover, cheaters cost taxpayers money. DPP has to invest funds and time enforcing its regulations, including the extra work involved in revoking a building permit and defending its decision on appeal. It would be nice if taxpayers could get more of that money back.
DPP’s draft ordinance would address areas of the law where builders may be tempted to cheat: development standards and permitted uses and structures, such as maximum heights, height setbacks, floor-area ratios, or the number of bathrooms permitted inside a home based on the number of dwellings, units or lot size.
It’s fertile ground for sneaking past the rules.
“I think what we’re finding is a lot of the time (builders) think it’s worth the risk to put something on plans that make