Judge: County should have held hearings before Kanaha sweep
Homeless residents pushed out of area sued county in November
Vehicles and other belongings line Amala Place during the county and state’s sweep of homeless encampments near Kanaha Beach Park in September. A judge has ruled that Maui County was required to hold evidentiary hearings sought by two homeless women before the sweep, which the county is appealing.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
Four homeless plaintiffs who were forced out of the area known as Pu‘uhonua o Kanaha in September filed a lawsuit against the county in November. A judge ruled earlier this month that Maui County was required to hold evidentiary hearings sought by two homeless women before the sweep, which the county is appealing.
Vehicles and other belongings line Amala Place during the county and state’s sweep of homeless encampments near Kanaha Beach Park in September. A judge has ruled that Maui County was required to hold evidentiary hearings sought by two homeless women before the sweep, which the county is appealing.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
Four homeless plaintiffs who were forced out of the area known as Pu‘uhonua o Kanaha in September filed a lawsuit against the county in November. A judge ruled earlier this month that Maui County was required to hold evidentiary hearings sought by two homeless women before the sweep, which the county is appealing.
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A judge ruled that Maui County was required to hold evidentiary hearings sought by two homeless women before a sweep of encampments on county land near Kanaha Beach Park last year.
In an order filed March 16, 2nd Circuit Judge Kirstin Hamman said "constitutional due process required a contested case hearing" for Sonia Davis and Jessica Lau, who had their property taken and destroyed in the sweep Sept. 20 to 22.
The order didn't require such hearings for Lauralee Riedell and Adam Walton, who didn't lose personal property in the sweep.
Davis, Lau, Riedell and Walton were among more than 40 people who filed requests for contested case hearings before the sweep occurred, according to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which represented the four people living in the area known as Pu'uhonua o Kanaha in a lawsuit against the county. Maui County didn't respond to the requests for hearings, the release said.
"We are very pleased that our clients will now have their day in court, after the county wrongfully denied them their constitutional right to be heard," Jongwook "Wookie" Kim, ACLU of Hawaii legal director, said in a statement. "By finding that contested case requests were required before Maui County conducted this sweep of houseless people and their property, the court confirmed that houseless people do not forfeit their constitutional due process rights simply by existing in public spaces, and also effectively put the county on notice that the kind of slipshod procedure it used here will not be tolerated in the future."
In a statement, Deputy Corporation Counsel Caleb Rowe said the county is appealing the ruling.
"Four plaintiffs allege that the county is required to hold evidentiary hearings before it may remove personal items left on county land without the county's permission," Rowe said. "The court granted the county's motion to dismiss two plaintiffs and ruled that the remaining two plaintiffs were entitled to a hearing before their property was removed from county land.
"The county has asked that this matter be reviewed by the Intermediate Court of Appeals."
County and state Department of Land and Natural Resources employees cleared out homeless people, towed abandoned vehicles and picked up trash during the sweep that officials said was done because the homeless encampment was creating hazards for the Wailuku-Kahului Wastewater Treatment Plant on Amala Place and Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary.
Except for vehicles, personal property that was seized or left behind was destroyed, according to court records.
Lau, 52, was able to save most of her belongings from being seized but lost several items, including a portable water tank, fishing poles and Bluetooth speakers.
Davis, 64, lost property including pots and pans, tents, a canopy, folding tables, diapers, a stroller, playpen and baby car seat, as well as four vehicles.
While the county argued that personal property loses protections under constitutional due process when kept on public property allegedly "in violation of criminal statues," the court disagreed.
The order said vehicles in the plaintiffs' possession were protected by due process, regardless of who the registered owners were, because the plaintiffs "were in possession of those vehicles and were using those vehicles both to store other personal property and for shelter."
"The court finds that the private interests at stake here are significant," the order said.
It also said that there was a high risk that people would be wrongly deprived of their property because procedures used by the county didn't provide people with "the ability to meaningfully challenge the Kanaha Sweep and the taking and destruction of their property."
On Sept. 1, the county issued a news release advising the public that the sweep would be occurring and on Sept. 14 distributed a paper copy of a "notice to vacate" to homeless people in the Kanaha area. The notice said the area would be cleared of personal property and vehicular access would be restricted from Sept. 20 to 22.
The notice also said anyone remaining might be cited for trespassing and listed agencies providing mental health and shelter services but didn't provide information on how to retrieve any seized personal property, according to the court order.
Some plaintiffs didn't receive the notice to vacate, according to court records.
The court order acknowledged that the county "may have important interests in public health, safety, and the maintenance of its public spaces, but on balance they do not outweigh the significant private interests at stake, especially in light of the high risk of erroneous deprivation created by the procedures Defendants actually used."
In a statement commenting on the court order, Davis said, "I'm glad to see something is finally being done. Every time they did a sweep I took a loss and it was really hard."
Lau, who became homeless when she was evicted in early 2020 after suffering health problems from her job and helping her disabled adult son pay rent, said: "It means a lot. It's a beautiful feeling that we are finally going to be heard."
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.