10-10-2024, 10:31 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-10-2024, 10:37 AM by My 2 cents.)
Rob, from another thread, wrote:
Thousands of AG lots, especially in Puna, were illegally subdivided by the Hawaii County Board of Supervisors before statehood. Most of the big problems here were created by the county operating as shills for the largest landowners.
There were subdivision laws on the books at the time which were generally ignored.
If the county officials had done things properly and legally in the beginning the associations would not have felt the need to sue the property owners in class actions to force additional encumbrances on them that weren’t included in the original agreements. The associations and their attorneys would not have found it necessary to violate due process to get their decisions, and the state courts would not have had to overlook, and in some cases assist with these violations of process.
The result is we have governing documents that are in conflict with state laws, and bylaws that are in conflict with their charters of incorporation. With all of this conflict in the foundation, it’s no wonder that there is so much conflict between neighbors and association directors, about everything from road maintenance to mailboxes. And it all stems from the illegal activities of those county officials 65 years ago.
I came to the conclusion many years ago that the only way to repair the situation is for the county to take over ownership of the roads. Of course they won’t do it willingly so they will need to be persuaded, and I believe the best, perhaps only way to do that is with a class action suit against the county and the state in federal court, preferably initiated by a coalition of associations. There’s plenty of documentation to support it.
I’m not an attorney so I expect there may be some flaws in these thoughts, and I welcome discussion about that. Previous resistance has been more about “that’ll take too long and cost too much.” I find that hard to accept, considering the millions of dollars and decades already spent.
Maybe people just like the conditions as they are and don’t want their arguing to be reduced to what color curtains to hang in the office.
Thousands of AG lots, especially in Puna, were illegally subdivided by the Hawaii County Board of Supervisors before statehood. Most of the big problems here were created by the county operating as shills for the largest landowners.
There were subdivision laws on the books at the time which were generally ignored.
If the county officials had done things properly and legally in the beginning the associations would not have felt the need to sue the property owners in class actions to force additional encumbrances on them that weren’t included in the original agreements. The associations and their attorneys would not have found it necessary to violate due process to get their decisions, and the state courts would not have had to overlook, and in some cases assist with these violations of process.
The result is we have governing documents that are in conflict with state laws, and bylaws that are in conflict with their charters of incorporation. With all of this conflict in the foundation, it’s no wonder that there is so much conflict between neighbors and association directors, about everything from road maintenance to mailboxes. And it all stems from the illegal activities of those county officials 65 years ago.
I came to the conclusion many years ago that the only way to repair the situation is for the county to take over ownership of the roads. Of course they won’t do it willingly so they will need to be persuaded, and I believe the best, perhaps only way to do that is with a class action suit against the county and the state in federal court, preferably initiated by a coalition of associations. There’s plenty of documentation to support it.
I’m not an attorney so I expect there may be some flaws in these thoughts, and I welcome discussion about that. Previous resistance has been more about “that’ll take too long and cost too much.” I find that hard to accept, considering the millions of dollars and decades already spent.
Maybe people just like the conditions as they are and don’t want their arguing to be reduced to what color curtains to hang in the office.