laura matsuzaki hawaii
A court-ordered cleanup crewhauled away more than 42,000 pounds of trash from a woman’s home last week in the Kaimuki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. Neighbors say theyve been complaining to city officials about the property — which was filled with trash, infested with rodents, andsmelled of “urine, feces and mold”– since 2004, according to Hawaii News Now. The states Department of Planning and Permitting initiated cleanup effortsin early July after the Honolulu Fire Department determined the property to be a potential fire hazard. City officials told KITV4 that the property owner, 73-year-old Laura Matsuzaki, has accumulated nearly $200,000 in fines and citations, but they have been unable to locate her. Neighbors and city officials believe Matsuzaki no longer lives on the property and, according to news station KHON2, could have mental health issues. People have used the property as an illegal dumpsiteand neighbors sayhomeless people have set up camp there, KITV 4 reported. Pacific Junk Removal, the company hired to clear the decrepit home, spent six days clearing the property. The contractors reported that the trash and debris inside the house almost reached the ceiling, according to Hawaii News Now. [Trash] had broken down and decomposed so much that it became whole instead of loose like were normally used to, so its heavy, really heavy stuff, Ray Peralta, manager of Pacific Junk Removal, told KHON2. This is the most incredible hoarding house that Ive seen, he added, and Ive seen a lot. The property has violated building and health codes since 2008, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, though the city said that the owner has kept up with property taxes. Were doing this because the owner is unresponsive, uncooperative and quite honestly we cant find her, Art Challacombe, deputy director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, told KITV4. ”Also on HuffPost: — This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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