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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Call city to check permit for building
Question: There is a house in my neighborhood doing construction, but I don't see any visible building permit. The construction is taking place in the back and not visible from the street. I thought the building permit had to be posted in plain sight. Who do I contact to check on any violations, i.e., if there is a permit?
Answer: You can call the city Department of Planning and Permitting's Building Division at 523-4505.
It's important to have the correct address so that staff can look up the public information, said Timothy Hiu, acting chief of the Building Division. You can make a complaint at that time if work is being done without a permit, he said.
The public also can do a property search through the department's Web site -- www.honoluludpp.org -- where there is a link to the Honolulu Internet Permit System at dppweb.co.honolulu.hi.us/Dppweb.
If you have an address or Tax Map Key number, Hiu said, you can find information on a property, including basic zoning, ownership, tax assessment, setbacks and building permit history.
Regarding the posting of a permit, Hiu pointed to Chapter 18, Section 5.1(d) of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, which says, "The building permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the site during the progress of work."
Q: I recently almost hit a lady and a little boy in a stroller as I was driving on Magellan Street, going east. It's like driving on a hill in that area. Two pedestrian bridges come over the freeway and terminate on Magellan. The weeds have grown up so high around the bridges that I couldn't see the two walking. Thank God I had good brakes on my car. Can't someone get the weeds mowed or put up a flashing yellow sign?
A: Although Magellan is a city street, the part in question is under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation. After we passed on your complaint to the DOT, a maintenance crew cut the tall grass last week. "We'll remind them to make sure they don't allow the grass to grow too long," spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.
Mahalo
To the HFD firefighter who helped me push my stalled car from the center of Luehu Street in Pearl City on Tuesday morning, Nov. 15. Sorry I didn't get his name, but his kind gesture is proof that the aloha spirit is alive and well. Mahalo, brah! -- Mark
Mahalo
To the female bicyclist who, at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, stopped to retrieve my hubcap. The hubcap had rolled onto Kalanianaole Highway at West Hind Drive and into the bike lane as I was turning onto the highway. I had recently purchased new tires, and the hubcap apparently was loose. I pulled into the nearby parking area so that I could retrieve it, but to my surprise she brought it to me. Many blessings to her. -- A Grateful Motorist
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Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com