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A state agency has informed the owner of several streets in Kakaako that it will begin imposing fines of $2,500 a day starting Monday unless the owner stops charging for parking or improves the roads to city standards. Read more

A state agency has informed the owner of several streets in Kakaako that it will begin imposing fines of $2,500 a day starting Monday unless the owner stops charging for parking or improves the roads to city standards.

The Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency regulating development in the area, notified Kakaako Land Co. by certified mail last month that the company led by brothers Calvert and Cedric Chun has been violating a state law created last year in response to community complaints over parking restrictions along several Kakaako streets.

The law 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.

“Cease charging a fee for parking on the streets listed above until the streets are made to conform to and are maintained to meet the construction and maintenance standards established for county highways,” the violation notice states.

The notice applies to portions of five streets — Queen, Kawaiahao, Ilaniwai, Cummins and Clayton streets. HCDA said each street represents a separate violation for which a $500 daily fine can be applied.

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

Calvert Chun said an attorney representing Kakaako Land will be taking “appropriate action” in response but was not more specific.

Chun added that he feels Kakaako Land is being picked on, and said 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, Kakaako Land began reserving and charging for street parking that had long been free, including spaces fronting many small businesses.

Some area businesses and residents complained about the restrictive parking, about streets not being maintained and about other safety issues, including parking in areas the city once prohibited.

Several businesses filed a lawsuit against Kakaako Land in 2014 but the case has not yet gone to trial. Government leaders also made several as-yet-unfruitful attempts to affect the situation, including an effort by the city to condemn the streets and a 2016 law contending the state is the rightful owner of the former Desky streets.

Some see last year’s new law, Act 009, as a forceful measure because bringing the roads up to city standards would involve costly investment to meet standards for roadway width, drainage, sidewalks, underground utilities and other things. But it’s possible Kakaako Land could challenge HCDA’s effort in court.

Larry Newman, a resident in the Pacifica Honolulu condominium tower that borders Waimanu Street, calls Act 009 a clear law that needs to be enforced.

“The residents of Pacifica Honolulu are increasingly distressed by eroding conditions, maintenance and safety of Waimanu Street in Kakaako,” he said in written testimony submitted in November on HCDA’s plan to cite Kakaako Land.

John Kobelanski, a resident in the Imperial Plaza condo tower that borders Kawaiahao and Dreier streets, previously indicated opposition to HCDA taking enforcement action in a written comment to the agency in November, but said in an email afterward that he meant to express opposition to Kakaako Land.

“I totally support the HCDA’s decision on this and I am opposed to the Chun brothers who are extorting business owners for their parking spaces,” Kobelanski said.