(a) In lieu of or in addition to enforcement pursuant to § 29-4.3, if the director of planning and permitting determines that any person, firm, or corporation is not complying with a notice of violation, the director of planning and permitting may issue an order to the person or entity responsible for the violation, pursuant to this section.
(b) Contents of order.
(1) The order may require the party responsible for the violation to do any or all of the following:
(A) Correct the violation within the time specified in the order;
(B) Upon compliance with HRS Chapter 91, pay a civil fine not to exceed $5,000 in the manner, at the place and time specified in the order;
(C) Upon compliance with HRS Chapter 91, pay a civil fine not to exceed $5,000 per day for each day in which the violation occurs, in the manner and at the time and place specified in the order; and
(D) Restore the land affected by the violation to its original condition and obtain a certificate of completion from the director of planning and permitting. Restoration of the land must be completed within 30 days of the order becoming final.
(2) The order shall advise the party responsible for the violation that the order shall become final 30 calendar days after the date of its delivery.
(c) Recurring violations.
(1) Persons who have previously committed a violation under this chapter, in a five-year period, may be required to pay initial and daily civil fines under subsection (b) in amounts up to two times the fine amounts previously imposed by the director of planning and permitting for the immediately preceding violation.
(2) Where a person commits a violation under this chapter, at the same location, more than one time in a 12-month period, the director of planning and permitting shall refer the finding of violation to the prosecuting attorney for initiation of a criminal prosecution pursuant to § 18A-4.3.
(d) Service of notice of order. A notice of order must be served upon responsible persons either personally or by certified mail. However, if the whereabouts of such persons are unknown and the same cannot be ascertained by the director of planning and permitting in the exercise of reasonable diligence and the director provides an affidavit to that effect, then a notice of order may be served by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly publication in the city pursuant to HRS § 1-28.5.
(e) Judicial enforcement of order. The director of planning and permitting may institute a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of any order issued pursuant to this section. If a violator does not pay the civil penalty assessed by the director of planning and permitting within 30 days after it is due, or does not request an administrative hearing to contest the violation within the time provided by the order, the director of planning and permitting shall request the corporation counsel to institute a civil action to recover the amount of the assessment. Where the civil action has been instituted to enforce the civil fine imposed by the order, the director of planning and permitting need only show that the notice of violation and order were served, that a civil fine was imposed, the amount of the civil fine imposed and that the fine imposed has not been paid.
(f) Injunctive relief. The director of planning and permitting may institute a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violation, or threatened violation of this chapter. The institution of an action for injunctive relief does not relieve any person from liability under the civil and criminal penalties for violations of this chapter.
(g) Exception—at the discretion of the director, the owner and developer of the property or person or persons responsible for such grading has not violated this chapter by grading without a permit in cases of natural or man-made disasters.
For the purposes of this section, a “natural disaster” includes disasters caused by fire, flood, tidal waves, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or other natural causes; and a “man-made disaster” includes disasters caused by enemy attacks, sabotage, other hostile actions, or disasters to individual homes, or other disasters manufactured, created,s or constructed by mankind.
(1990 Code, Ch. 14, Art. 16, § 14-16.4) (Added by Ord. 90-71; Am. Ords. 14-30, 15-15)