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Pill 38
COUNTY CLERK cam.205
COUNTY OF HAWAji
Date: October 4, 2025
2025 OCT -b A%1 8� 12
RE: Bill 38 before the County Council on Oct. 8, 2025 for Final Read
Aloha Honorable Councilmembers,
As this is the 61h or 7' time I've testified in support of Bill 38, I'm shocked at the difficulty this Council has
had in making a simple decision to help alleviate the issue with private roads, open to the public, in the
island's substandard subdivisions. This bill offers a small first step in correcting land use wrongs initially
committed in the late 1950s through the early 1970s when the territorial government, and then the newly
formed County of Hawaii, approved subdivisions without holding developers responsible for setting up
CC&Rs to allow the maintenance and improvement of these roadways. When attempts to correct this
deficiency are undertaken in 2025, the legal expenses associated with retroactively granting a subdivision
broad corporation or HOA the right to charge mandatory road fees are large. A recent estimate for Hawaiian
Acres, which was approved for subdivision in 1958, is $30,000 or greater in legal fees. This is what it will cost
to allow mandatory road fees and liens against property owners who do not pay annual assessments.
I am fortunate to live in the Hawaiian Shores Community Assn where the portion of our annual assessment
that is used for road maintenance and improvements is $75/year. I just came from the annual member
meeting in Nanawale Estates where my organization holds a property. I recommended they invest the legal
fees to change their bylaws which are decades old and currently prohibit the board from raising the annual
fees by more than 5%/year. Under that restriction, it would take them 8 years to reach an annual road
maintenance fee of $75. 1 was happy to hear they've engaged an attorney to begin the process but can also
see from the financials that they're spending substantial amounts on their legal fees. The point is that it will
take many of the substandard subdivisions in Puna and Ka'u several years of paperwork and member votes
before they'll be able to benefit from a measure like Bill 38.
The amendment put forth by CM Eustace effectively kills the program after 5-6 years which will discourage
subdivisions that can't currently comply with the minimum of $75 to NOT take action to be able to make
road fees mandatory and be able to lien on delinquent accounts. Incentives matter! I therefore oppose
setting a sunset date on this program.
Accountability is very important though. Lisa Miura of your Real Property Tax Office made it clear that they
can report on how many homeowners were able to receive the credit for what they paid in road fees on
their real property tax bill. Since roads are tangible goods, it should be easy to document whether road
maintenance improves on the roads of participating subdivisions by using drone technology. Once you have
a list of all the subdivisions participating in this program in its first year, hire a contractor to do drone
footage of the relevant private roads. Then you can repeat that drone imaging after 3 years or more to
determine if there's been improvement in the road conditions. Drone technology is quite affordable!
So please don't relinquish this chance to get this right and pass a meaningful bill. While you may not be
aware, approximately 20% or more of our island's population live in subdivisions with private roads open to
the public. Let's ensure those roads are improved and maintained such that emergency services and police
can access those properties for the good of all the island's population.
Mahalo,
VMW 1%�
Eileen O'Hara
Comm.
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