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SECTION 4. Chapter 20, article 2, section 20-21 through section 20-23, of the Hawaii
<br /> County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended) are amended to read as follows:
<br /> "Section 20-21. Removal of refuse= [and] undergrowth, and unsafe flora required.
<br /> Every owner of any occupied or unoccupied lot the frontage of which abuts or adjoins
<br /> any public street or highway within the County, shall clear the lot of all refuse, [and]
<br /> uncultivated undergrowth, and unsafe flora thereon to a depth of not exceeding one hundred
<br /> feet from any street or highway adjoining, whenever on the lot there is refuse, [of] uncultivated
<br /> undergrowth, or unsafe flora to an extent that the lot has become or is likely to become a clear
<br /> and present danger for fire, health, safety, property damage, or crime hazard.
<br /> Section 20-22. Complaint by adjacent or abutting [owners] owner(s); request to clear.
<br /> If a majority of all the adult residents within a radius of five hundred feet from any
<br /> boundary of, or the property owner of a property adjacent to or abutting, ref] any occupied or
<br /> unoccupied lot, in writing to the mayor requests that the lot be cleared, the mayor shall
<br /> investigate the complaint. If the mayor certifies that there is refuse, [er] uncultivated
<br /> undergrowth, or unsafe flora on the lot complained about to an extent that the lot has become or
<br /> is likely to become a clear and present danger for fire, health, safety, property damage, or crime
<br /> hazard, the mayor shall notify the owner of the lot to clear the occupied or unoccupied lot of
<br /> the refuse, [of] uncultivated undergrowth, or unsafe flora.
<br /> If the offending uncultivated undergrowth or unsafe flora is registered as an endangered
<br /> or protected species or is listed as "exceptional" pursuant to chapter 14, article 10 of this Code,
<br /> or if the owner wants to keep the offending uncultivated undergrowth or unsafe flora, the owner
<br /> shall submit in writing a treatment plan for its continued safe existence to the mayor's office,
<br /> the department of public works, the arborist advisory committee, the offended property
<br /> owner(s), and, if applicable, the homeowners association. The treatment plan shall be approved
<br /> by the department and homeowners association, if applicable.
<br /> If a home is constructed in close proximity to an existing stand of trees used for wind
<br /> block, boundary markers or ornamentals, the homeowner shall not lodge a complaint under this
<br /> section and shall seek other legal remedies should an emergency situation arise.
<br /> If a person lodges three unsubstantiated complaints about the same refuse, uncultivated
<br /> undergrowth, or unsafe flora, that individual will be prohibited from filing future complaints
<br /> under this section.
<br /> Section 20-23. Clearance by County; costs.
<br /> (a) If any owner, after notice to clear any occupied or unoccupied lot has been mailed to the
<br /> owner and posted by the mayor,fails or refuses to comply with the order within thirty
<br /> days after the notice, the County may proceed to clear the lot at the expense of the owner.
<br /> (b) The expense of clearing any lot shall be a lien on the property so cleared, and the
<br /> County may recover the amount of the lien and the expense and costs of the clearing by
<br /> action at law in assumpsit, or by any action allowed by law in equity, or that may be
<br /> prescribed by statute, including any proceeding allowed for the foreclosure of tax
<br /> liens."
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