Hawaii County says property owners did not fix county code violations despite numerous opportunities. Thursday, November 21st 2019, 9:34 PM HST by Eliza LarsonImage

Deconstruction and demolition in downtown Hilo.

Hawaii County officials removed unpermitted structures and roughly 10 people off a property on Punahoa Street. According to the county, owners of the property were given multiple chances to fix the county code violations.

Owners were not on scene Thursday when the county stepped in.

“My immediate plan will be to protest this maneuver by the county,” said Jeffery Horie, who lived on the property. “I can’t really speak for the owner, but I know that they are in the process of trying to amicable work out the situation. Unfortunately both parties are not coming together.”

Work to remove the structures started at 6 A.M.

“People on the property were given half and hour to forty-five minutes notice prior to operations,” said Barett Otani, Executive Director of Hawaii County.’

Representatives with Hope Services Hawaii — a Hilo-based nonprofit to help people in need — were on scene.

 

Read the article and watch the video direct through KITV here.