COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

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COURTESY DLNR

From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

2/3

COURTESY DLNR

From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

3/3

COURTESY DLNR

From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

COURTESY DLNR From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

State and county officials have put a Kahala Avenue property owner on notice of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines due to multiple alleged violations of shoreline laws.

According to a news release from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, notices of these violations have been sent to the Asagami Corp. of Japan, owner of the property at 4623 Kahala Ave., dating back to August 2005.

The violations include the unauthorized use of various structures, including a chain-link fence, that are encroaching on the public beach due to erosion.

A joint investigation was recently conducted by the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting and the DLNR Land Division and the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands in response to complaints.

The team found that a fence, as well as “unauthorized structures and material” that used to be on the edge of the property had collapsed into the ocean.

From the ocean, it appears to be a jumbled mess of tree roots with wire, poles, boards, sand bags and tarp that are about to fall apart as waves continue to lap at its border.

Under state law, DLNR said, it is illegal to obstruct access to public property and the beach transit corridor, which in this case is the shoreline.

Both agencies on Friday sent notices of violations to the Asagami Corp. and its chairman Tomomi Kimura.

DLNR said modifications appear to have been made to the fence, with the addition of wooden posts and metal wiring — and that the collapsed fence and modifications are being used “as a component in an alleged unauthorized erosion control device” in the conservation district.”

DLNR recommended the removal of the encroachments within 21 days, saying the Board of Land and Natural Resources could bring action to remove them if there is no compliance.

Honolulu DPP specifically cited the illegal geotextile fabric, chain-link fence and cable fence that are now in the setback area.

A permit was issued for the construction of the cable fence in 1992, DPP said, but is now unauthorized, with erosion having pushed it into the setback area.

The fines for causing an encroachment on public lands is as much as $1,000 per day for the first offense, and $1,000 to $4,000 per day for two or more offenses, DLNR said.

Additionally, there is a $15,000 fine per violation for unauthorized land use in a state conservation district, in addition to administrative costs, and costs of land or habitat restoration.

Obstructing access to public property is also a potential misdemeanor, DLNR said, with failure to remove structures within 21 days punishable by additional fines.

DPP’s notice orders the owner to remove all items by Aug. 7 or face an initial fine of up to $100,000, plus daily fines of up to $10,000 until all violations are corrected.

The Asagami Corp., according to its website, is a leading logistics, or marine cargo handling company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The Star-Advertiser attempted to contact the Asagami Corp. by email but did not hear back by press time.

Honolulu property tax records show the Asagami Corp. as the fee owner of 4623 Kahala Ave., an eight-bedroom, nine-bath home on nearly an acre of land.

“We appreciate the collaborative spirit in which the City and County of Honolulu addressed this issue with us,” said DLNR Chair Dawn Chang in the news release. “It involved some complex jurisdictional considerations and having a joint site visit with the C&C resulted in both state and county actions. Our hope is this all leads to the restoration of the shoreline at this location very soon.”

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