HONOLULU (AP) — A neglected house in Honolulu will be cleaned up by the city after a decade of ignored fines.
HONOLULU (AP) — A neglected house in Honolulu will be cleaned up by the city after a decade of ignored fines.
The homeowner has been receiving fines since 2007 for having vehicles, garbage and other items withering away on the property, KHON-TV reported Monday.
“We do what we can to try and keep it clean, as I’m doing today,” said Wade Reeves, a neighbor. “I try to keep the mosquitoes down. … It’s pretty disgusting. There are a lot of cats, rats, everything runs around.”
The homeowner has tallied about $250,000 in unpaid fines. But thanks to a law passed in 2015, the city can now intervene and clean neglected properties.
“Because none of the fines have been paid, we’ve asked our attorneys to take legal action that would allow the city to abate the unsafe and unsanitary conditions on the property,” the city said in a statement.
The homeowner will receive a bill for the cost of cleaning.
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said the sooner the city takes action, the better.
“It’s really unfair that this sits here,” Kobayashi said. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I were living next door. Those people are really upset.”
This would be the second time the city has cleaned up a house since the law passed.