A plan to allow Hawaii County to conduct maintenance on private subdivision roads received some tentative support Tuesday from County Council members.
Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder introduced a measure at a meeting of the council’s Policy Committee on Health, Safety and Well-being which would establish a system that would permit the Department of Public Works to conduct maintenance and repair work on private roads that meet certain criteria.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said the road maintenance fees collected by subdivisions and community associations are not sufficient for those organizations to keep their roads — many of which are still used by the general public — in usable condition.
“The funding just isn’t there, and the number of miles is tremendous,” Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said.
Under the bill, a subdivision can submit a written request to the DPW director for improvements to a road. That request must specify the area and nature of the requested work.
Following that request, the DPW director will determine whether the road meets several criteria, including whether the road is open to the general public; if it serves 50 or more parcels, residences or apartments; if improvements to the road are feasible, will increase the safety of users, or beyond the ability of the road’s owners to pay for, and more.
The DPW director also will consult with other agencies to determine if the road is or can become a component of an emergency route or mass transit network, which will further guide the director’s decision.
The bill also allows the county pave over unpaved private roads if the DPW director determines that it would be more cost-effective and better serve the public interest than simple patching. The bill does not, however, allow for the installation other road infrastructure such as curbs, gutters and shoulders.
The measure also allows DPW to discontinue county assistance on a given private road if the director determines that the road no longer meets those criteria. If a road becomes marked as closed to the general public, DPW would be authorized to recover any removable materials installed by the county, and could bill the requester for the total cost of any construction work done on their behalf.
Former Puna Councilwoman Eileen O’Hara during Tuesday’s meeting called the bill a “big step forward for Puna,” saying that many private subdivision roads in the district are barely traversable after years of deterioration and limited maintenance resources.
Timothy Rowan, vice president of the Black Sands Beach community association, said his subdivision, which is largely composed of lower-income residents, makes its road maintenance fees entirely optional to pay, and added that, given the effects of inflation on construction costs, the subdivision will never be in a position to make major road improvements.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said the measure presents a “monumental change” both for residents dealing with limited accessibility to their homes and for the county’s relationship with subdivisions as a whole. He added that communities well beyond Puna also could benefit from the proposal.
That said, there was some skepticism from other council members. Heather Kimball and Cindy Evans, respectively the councilwomen for Hamakua and Kohala, said they were worried about the county’s potential liability for private roads.
Kimball said she was comfortable supporting the bill only because it includes a clause specifying that if the county improves a road, that does not mean the county is taking control of or making any safety guarantees about the road.
Despite some misgivings, council members seemed generally willing to support the proposal, but Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder moved to keep discussing the bill at a future committee meeting in order to review potential amendments.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
