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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Mililani rules supersede
state sign lawsQuestion: Regarding the May 17 Star-Bulletin story about political signs: In Mililani, we have gotten a letter from the Mililani Town Association saying we cannot put up signs per the covenants of the association. Do covenants for areas such as ours take precedence over state and federal laws?
Answer: "We've never been faced with that issue before," Aaron Schulaner, a deputy state attorney general, said when we posed your question.
You, as a homeowner, would have to take up the matter "as to the enforceability of such a provision" with the association, he said. "It's obviously not the state saying you can't have a sign on your own property."
The Attorney General's Office is not in a position to give legal advice to a private citizen, so you would have to decide whether this is an issue that you'd want to challenge.
However, Calvin Maeda, general manager of the Mililani Town Association, said, "The state does not overrule restrictive covenants in planned communities." No state laws say it can supersede such covenants or restrictive declarations, he maintained.
Maeda said the restriction against posting political (and commercial) yard signs has "always been there." The association was "a little more lenient" last year, he said, but that resulted in residents putting "big banners all over the place. It got a little out of hand."
Because of that, association members were sent a reminder saying, "You know you're not supposed to do this," Maeda said.
"There is nothing to prevent them from holding signs at curbside; they can do that," he said. "But when they post signs, it violates our sign ordinance."
According to a copy of the association's Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions filed with the state Land Court, limitations, restrictions, covenants and conditions "are established and declared and agreed to be for the purpose of enhancing and protecting the value, desirability and attractiveness of the properties. These limitations, restrictions, covenants and conditions shall run with said property and shall be binding upon all parties."
The May 17 story and a March 24 Kokua Line item noted that previous government restrictions on the posting of political campaign signs on private property have been deemed unconstitutional.
"We normally get calls about government property, and the laws are pretty clear that you can't leave signs on government property for fear of making it look like government is endorsing one candidate," Schulaner said.
Mahalo
To the driver of a yellow/gold-colored car going toward Kaneohe on the Pali Highway in Nuuanu at around 6:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 11. He called our attention to a rapidly deflating back tire that could have been disastrous if we'd proceeded much farther. Fortunately, we were able to pull into a church parking lot and get the tire changed. His aloha saved us a lot of grief. Auwe to the idiots who left rubbish on Auwaiolimu Street, near the Chinese cemetery, which we were unable to avoid running over, thereby embedding a nail in the tire. -- The Akaka Family
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