2018-06-27 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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issue at worst. A method is needed to address such a situation, when a vehicle must be removed immediately. Director Kucharski said his thoughts on this are that private roadways are in private associations. There is nothing to stop the association that owns the private roadway from towing the illegally parked vehicle. Part of the responsibility of having a private roadway is the ability to maintain it, and towing a vehicle is within the purview of the association. Vice Chair Olson said the problem is that in some areas, the roads were created without an association, and the lot owners hold the road lot in common. The owners have no legitimate legal authority to tow a vehicle. They don’t even have legal authority to maintain the roads. It’s a unique situation. Councilmember O’Hara said she agreed, and over 50% of the Puna roadways are private. But as Director Kucharski explained, the hold-up is mainly with the police, and many times it is not the fault of the police because nobody has called them to report a vehicle. Unless someone calls in an abandoned vehicle, it won’t get moved. There is a number to call the police to report an abandoned vehicle, but it seems much of the public doesn’t know about it. There is an educational component here, as most people don’t know the first step to get the process moving is to report the abandoned vehicle to the police. Discussion went back and forth regarding the procedure to get the ball rolling on an abandoned vehicle. Director Kucharski said regarding Bill 154, in Section 20- 38(c)(3), where DEM is to promulgate rules and procedures for the removal of the vehicles, he would recommend the rules have some educational component. Commissioner Gaffney asked Director Kucharski if he understood correctly that DEM would like to have the right to declare a vehicle abandoned, and Director Kucharski said he would like to have the police delegate citation authority to DEM. He is not certain of the intricacies of this, but if the police could delegate or deputize DEM’s abandoned vehicle people to cite, the process would move much faster. Commissioner Gaffney said it would be a logical addition to the EMC’s recommendation to Council. Councilmember O’Hara also said that was a great recommendation, but it would probably need to go into a separate section of the Code rather than be a part of Bill 154. However, the EMC could include it in their letter regarding the bill. Chair Bennett pointed out that another concern with abandoned vehicles is that they are environmental hazards because of the gas, oil, and battery acid they leak. The longer they sit abandoned, the more leakage will occur, so there is some urgency to have them removed. It appears the onus is on the public to report the abandoned vehicles. He agrees with Director Kucharski that education needs to happen.