COM 0434.008 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ Bruce A. Anderson PO Box 473, Kurtistown, HI 96760-0473 o Phone (808) 982-9016 To: Hawaii County Council From: Bruce A. Anderson -resident property owner in Hawaiian Acres Regarding: Acquisition of 8 Road in Hawaiian Acres "t RECEIVED 71me----- RY----- Date__---- 77''1-------- Mr. Chairman, Council members, '=~~~"v c;;uncll The County is proposing to acquire 8 Road and short pieces of some others, all- connected to each other and made, by Ordinance, into one lawful parcel.. The method to be employed by the county in the resolution now before you is, upon analysis, both illegal and unconstitutional. There are four ways the County could acquire this land: l.) through voluntary sale by the owner. 2.) by gift from the owner, 3.) by forced sale through condemnation and 4.) by finding that the property has been abandoned to the public because the owner exercised no property rights for a very long time; this last is called "adverse possession" The County has elected to employ the fourth method listed here, adverse possession. It is so called because the person claiming the property is admitting to using the property as though it were his own and adversely to the recorded owners' rights and interest. The claim also means that the recorded owner offered no resistance to the use of the property and did not exercise any property rights for a very long time and has therefor in all fairness, "abandoned" the property. There is a statute providing for how to do this in Hawaii when the property in question is a road. The manner in which the County intends to apply the statute is contrary to its meaning. The statute requires that there have been "no act of ownership" but the proponents of this Ordinance have read "no act" to mean only "blocking or gating for at least twenty four hours". 34.08 ~ y11e loo. ~n~~-'~ Itet. ?oi 3 199 Ret. Date SEP