HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0639.003 2022-2024Ashley L. Kierkiewicz
Council Member
District 4 Puna
Office: (808) 961-8265
Fax: (808) 961-8912
ashley.kierkiewicz@hawaiicounty.gov
HAWAPI COUNTY COUNCIL
Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 C-,
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 18, 2023
TO: Heather Kimball, Council Chairperson
And Members of the Hawaii County Council
FROM: Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Council Member
SUBJECT: Bill No. 110 Letter of Support - Office of the Prosecuting Attorney
Please find attached a letter of testimony from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Bill No. 110
relating to establishing a registry of information for the purpose of notifying property owners of
vandalism, immediate hazards, or disasters.
AK/ki
fi OL
Comm. No. 434 fl
Ref. TO: Ref. Date 902- 9 2 0 23
KELDEN B.A. WALTJEN
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
STEPHEN L. FRYE
FIRST DEPUTY
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
655 KILAUEA AVENUE
HILO, HAWAH 96720
PH: (808) 961-0466
FAX: (808) 961-8908
74-675 KEALAKEHE PARKWAY
KAILUA-KONA, HAWAH 96740
PH: (808) 322-2552
FAX: (808) 322-6584
_1-a1M3C%3 64-1067 MAMALAHOA HIGHWAY, C-3
KAMUELA, HAWAH 96743
PH: (808) 887-3017
OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY FAX: (808) 887-3016
TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 110
A BILL RELATING
TO AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE HAWAI'l COUNTY
CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY
ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO
ESTABLISHING A REGISTRY OF INFORMATION FOR
THE PURPOSE OF NOTIFYING PROPERTY OWNERS
OF VANDALISM, IMMEDIATE HAZARDS, OR
DISASTERS.
POLICY COMMITTEE ON
HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING
Councilinember Kagiwada Chair & Presiding Officer
Councilmember Matt Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
West Hawaii Civic Center Council Chambers
74-5044 Ane Keohokdlole Highway, Building A
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Honorable Council Committee Chair & Presiding Officer Kagiwada, Council Committee
Vice -Chair Kdne ali'i -Kleinfel der, and Members of the Policy Committee on Health, Safety
and Wellbeing. The County of Hawaii, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney submits the
following testimony in support of Bill No. 110.
This bill was drafted to amend Chapter 14 of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016
Edition, as Amended) by adding a new article to establish a registry of information for the
purpose of notifying property owners of vandalism, immediate hazards, and disasters.
Vacant, abandoned, and derelict ("VAD") properties, often times occupied by individuals
whom do not have any legal occupational interest in the subject property, have been an ongoing
concern on Hawaii Island for decades. Residents and law enforcement have expressed their
concerns relating to these properties which regularly harbor wanted and endangered persons, but
are also the location of other criminal activities, including but not limited to the following:
unlawful occupation of dwellings and structures; storage of stolen goods, products, and illegal
firearms; distribution of serious narcotics such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin;
trafficking; chop shops; and the illegal dumping of appliances, household/solid waste, hazardous
chemicals, and stolen and unwanted vehicles.
Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
Community frustrations lie within law enforcements' inability to contact property
owners, frequently out-of-state residents, financial/banks institutions, and properties held in trust.
Without convenient access to a legal property owner's contact information, law enforcement
may be prevented from accessing the subject property within an appropriate time frame to
apprehend suspects, contact witnesses, preserve and recover evidence, safely remove unlawful
occupants, and successfully complete their criminal investigations. More importantly, criminal
prosecutions may not be viable without confirmation from legal property owners that the current
inhabitants are in fact occupying the premises without lawful permission. As a result, there may
not be any recourse and accountability for individuals whom are unlawfully occupying VAD
properties which encourages law violators to commit crimes on these properties.
Residents should feel safe in their communities ... and more so in their own homes.
Providing an individual's contact information is a small price to pay for increased public safety
and the ability to feel safe in one's own home. This bill is a step in the right direction to provide
law enforcement with the tools necessary to address criminal activity on VAD properties, hold
unlawful occupants accountable, restore possession of VAD properties to their legal owners,
encourage VAD property owners to properly manage and care for their properties, and promote
public safety.
The County of Hawaii, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains committed to
pursuing justice with integrity and commitment. For the foregoing reasons, the County of
Hawaii, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney respectfully requests that Bill No. 110 be passed.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this matter.
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