Eye Sore in HPP, and it really pisses me off!

[Jody]

"Can they do it?"

As far as I know they can be liable for damages as a result of excavating near or on the property line. You have the right to have your land supported by that of your neighbor.

Aloha,
Jody

[Rob Tucker]

Start photographing all these activities thoroughly. And get them in the act if possible. You may already know where this will all end up.

[HiloHaole]

I can only give my opinion based on the laws/ordinances on the mainland that I know about. Hawaii may be very different since many things are different -- like no law against killing dogs for food, etc.

If the stones are on the line, then someone that originally laid them was in violation. It they remove the stones, those must be on their side of the property. Otherwise, they are trespassing on your property and stealing your property. If they leave stones from their side on your property, they are in violation. If the stones are solely on their property, they can remove them without any liability, even if it causes erosion on your property. (They can't direct erosion/water/etc. onto your property; however, that's not the case here.) I see similarities to what I've seen in the workplace. Many of the non-Haoles are slack on the job and not "in tune" with a corporate work ethic. When someone comes into the place and wishes to do the work that's expected, then the others "gang up" on that person, hoping that he/she will leave. Many times that person will leave. I posted an incident from an Oahu "Local" that had moved to Hilo and worked for a company as a supervisor and the workers that had been with that company were slackers and were "ganging up" on him. I saw that happening, first hand. They wanted to make a one-day job into a two-day job and this person from Oahu refused to go along with it. Here you are, you want to be neighborly and have a nice, clean lot and these people are trying to run you off. When I first moved to HPP, I was piling up the areca palm branches that fell -- and many always fell. The next-door neighbor's kid said, "Just throw them on the empty lot beside you." I told him that I didn't want to do that since I would be littering someone else's property. The kid just looked at me like I was crazy.

[Dave M]

Someone mentioned "Hillbillies & Rednecks on the mainland" earlier...Hmm, I think I ressemble that. I sell Farm & Ranch land here in Tx. It's common for ranches to have a dump. The practice of dumping their trash including but not limited to, appliances, cars, batteries etc.. was very common up untill the 80s.

It,s not as bad as it once was but they're still very common place. Most ranchers have stopped. It's now common for the buyer of a ranch to request an eviornmental impact study. As well, accompanying any contract is a required Disclosure Form. If the seller fails to disclose it's a pretty big fine. These home dumps although not to un-sightly (they are usually hidden at the back of, or hard to reach area of the ranch) due tend to leach into the ground water etc..

Now as for the next door neighbor stuff.. hmm not cool at all. We don't have that here (to many guns Standard procedure here would be to call the sheriff/law enforcement etc.. Take pictures while the sheriff is there. He (sheriff/deputy) talks to the neighbor. If they do it again the sheriff comes out looks at the picture looks at the site, writes the offender a ticket etc.. another scenario would be that you call up a couple of friends and go next door and.. well use your imagination. In either scenario the sheriff is going to end up there. I'm older now and would go with the Sheriff plan. Also.. here, if your property errodes on to their property you could be responsible for any damages incurred that result from said errosion.

Sooo.. there you have it from a redneck mainlanders POV. Sorry for the ramble, Aloha.

Take care,
dave

Edited by - Dave M on 05/18/2007 18:53:24

[Genxor]

Dave , There are as many hillbillies and rednecks in Puna as there are in Texas, I am positive of that !

We even lived ,ever so briefly, in Mississippi for a house flip, and every so-called "redneck" we met, had much more couth and respect for others than some of the "locals" here do.

Jeffhale, you really should contact officials. This is ridiculous.

Also, alot of "public interest" perhaps could dissuade your wacko neighbors, simply individuals stopping by to checkout the situation.

[Bill]

Good sensible advise, Kathy

When we bought here a couple of years ago, the first thing we did was to introduce ourselves to all of our neighbors. We knew that we would have to rent out the house for a year before we could move, and we wanted to assure them all that if there were any disruptions whatsoever from out tenents, to please call us so we could take immediate steps to make corrections.

This was one of the smartest things we ever did; although there was never a need, I'm sure that the positive impression we made that day has set the tone for the great relationship we have with them today.

Life is way too short to have a poor relationship with neighbors. Much better to be proactive, humble, and start over with a re-introduction accompanied with a bouquet of flowers or a plate of cookies. Courts and Cops will just make a bad situation worse, IMHO.

"Be kind whenever possible; it is always possible"
-Dalai Lama-

[Kahunascott]

I drove by last night and it seems that the neighbor is removing the stones and using them to build a wall in his front yard. I didn’t get to close or stop because I thought they might shoot a warning shot across my bow. Jeff’s property is around 3’ higher then his neighbors and the stones prevented the erosion of hisJeff's land into theirs. Seems as if Jeff will have to install his own wall to stabilize his property. That’s what I would do, when he’s finished his work. Run a string along the property line and put your own wall in.
Now as for the jerk on the south….for him I would install an 8’ privacy fence. It will serve two purposes. The first is for your benefit and that is so you don’t have to look at them on their patio and the second is that you will cut their entire view. I’m sure this wasn’t your original plan but if he wants to draw a line in the sand, build a wall on it. Good luck.

[Jody]

At one time we had some issues with our neighbors (trespassing) and our solution was to simply file a police report. Not only were the police responsive and helpful, they agreed it was a good idea to file a report in the event that anything further happened. We were told that if they trespassed again (or did something worse) the law would be on our side as the issue was already on record. All of this occured in Pahoa. And we never had a problem with those neighbors again.

Sometimes it just doesn't work to kill 'em with kindness. Some people, no matter how nice you are to them, will remain ignorant. Sad, but true.

Aloha,
Jody

[Jeffhale]

Yes Cathy, I've already tried that.

I've never made or created a threat to them, not in building nor view, breeze.

All I did was to buy an empty lot, which had been roughly dozed one year before, and had some overgrowth.

Two months later they began calling me on the mainland threatening 'If i did not cut the over growth down they would call the health department'. multiple calls, in which each time I did exactly as you prescribe, until finally they threatened civil action against me. while all the time i knew too that these threats were idle and baseless. Not to leave out, the police advised i file charges for harassment, Not wanting to escalate these troubles and or trying to remain neighborly,I didn't.

Last Dec. we visited for a month cleared out the lot, cleaned it up, you would have thought this would have pleased them, but not.

They know obviously I'll be building, but do not know what or where, nor had they or have i given them reason to worry about over shadowing them.

However, overshadowing is the only thing they've left in my mind now..

When I walk on my land, and because their houses, patios are encroaching into my realm, It is difficult to think of anything other than overshadowing them now, as they continue to intimidate my wife and I to the extent, we have no freedom of careless visual wander.

Surly they knew as they built their outdoor areas, somebody would come along, build on the empty lot, and their current actions, would cause anybody, a perfect stranger as I was when they began calling me, harassing, not to just run and hide, but their actions would make anybody to want to be out of site, out of mind.

They are batting their heads against the wall. while not going out and saying this is all about views, breeze, etc, and attempting to behave in a neighborly fashion, they are causing just the opposite.

It seems fairly obvious to that when they built these patios, they decided then, to attack anybody who stood in their way. Because, there was no ethicial reason for them to call me on the mainland threaten us in the first place.









Edited by - Jeffhale on 05/19/2007 07:28:29

[Dave M]

Hello Jeff,

While I do agree with the "Kill em with kindness" thoughts that have beed offered up so far. As well, I can definately respect your idea of not wanting to file a report in hopes to de-fuse the situation, I think it's important that you enjoy the rights that come with property ownership, as an American.

Many times the authorities want to help and will give you the steps to follow, these steps will allow them to step in and handle the situation and use their power to protect your rights.

I don't know if you made contact with these neighbors prior to your purchase or not. I do think that that is some very sound advice, to do so, wether in Tx or HI. With that said, I think you are passed that stage and I kinda doubt that you will every win them over. I suggest you follow the advice of the local law enforcement to the letter, this in turn will give them the latitude that they need to follow through on your behalf.

It's a lot like the battered wife that will not file charges.. what can the police do if she doesn't? Their hands are tied.

I do think you will have to re-build the wall on your side of the line. And remember, it doesn't matter who removed the wall you're still responsible for erossion, from your property, that adversly affects their property. Aloha

Take care,
dave