KAHULUI, Hawaii — On Monday, a team from the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation and officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement placed notices on 54 trucks and cars at Kahului Harbor warning owners that the vehicles will be towed from Kahului Harbor on May 6, according to a news release.
The notices warn owners that their vehicles, many of which are inoperable, are parked illegally in a state boating facility, a violation of one or more laws under Hawaii Administrative Rules.
Trash and personal items accumulating in the harbor’s open areas and parking lots prompted numerous complaints from harbor users and the surrounding community.
Twenty-seven people were told the state and a contractor would clean the harbor on May 2 and May 3. Those living in the harbor were advised to pack their personal items and that anything left behind would be hauled away.
According to the release, social services providers have been going to the harbor daily for the past two months. Ten individuals had accepted assistance and moved into temporary or transitional housing. Others chose to remain, but space is available should they decide to transition into more permanent housing.
“We recognize the plight houseless individuals face and the extraordinary high cost of living on Maui and across the state,” said DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood in the release. “However, our boating facilities are open to everyone and it is not appropriate for certain individuals to decide to set up living quarters and to literally trash out places that are owned by all the citizens of Hawaii.
“Currently the harbor area looks like an abandoned vehicle junk yard and we have an obligation to make sure it is clean for the many boaters, fishers and recreationists who utilize our facilities on a daily basis,” said Underwood.