Opinion ID: 2550107
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Poag

Text: Appellants contend that the circuit court erred in ruling that lessee Poag (Unit 470) was not qualified to participate in the condemnation action because he and his wife owned fee simple property within the City and County of Honolulu. Appellants argue (1) Poag owned the property to secure financing as part of his business of buying, renovating, and selling residential and commercial property and (2) the property was not habitable during the time Poag owned it due to plumbing, electrical, structural, and security deficiencies. Thus, Appellants appear to contend that the circuit court should not have ruled that Poag was not qualified because of (1) the reason he owned the property in question and (2) the state of the structure atop such property. ROH § 38-2.4 provides in pertinent part: (a) No sale of any condominium land within a development shall be made unless the lessees: ... (4) Do not own property in fee simple lands suitable for residential purposes within the City and County of Honolulu or having pending before the state housing finance and development corporation, or the city department of housing and community development an unrefused application to lease or purchase residential real property for dwelling unit purposes. A person is deemed to own lands, for the purpose of this paragraph, if the person, the person's spouse, or both the person and the person's spouse (unless separated and living apart under a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction) owns lands, including any interest, in a land trust in the City and County of Honolulu; Based on the language property in fee simple lands suitable for residential purposes and residential real property for dwelling unit purposes, the relevant inquiry under ROH § 38-2.4 centers around the character of the land itself  whether the property can be used for residential purposes or dwelling unit purposes. Under the plain language of the ordinance, the habitability of any structures atop land suitable for residential purposes is not relevant. In the instant case, Poag admitted during his deposition that the fee simple land he owned at 1248 Luna Place [hereinafter, the Makiki Property] was residential property, and it is undisputed that the Makiki Property is within the City and County of Honolulu. Poag also explained that the following work was done on the Makiki Property: We gutted the entire residence. By that I mean we tore out all the drywall, tore off the roof, tore out all the plumbing, reconfigured many of the interior walls, put in all new plumbing, all new drywall, all new roofing, added 1,500 square feet, including a detached garage and a guest cottage above the garage, resurfaced all the floors, put in granite and marble throughout, all new appliances, re-landscaped the entire project site. It was an extensive renovation. Poag's statements demonstrate that the Makiki Property was residential property and that the land had been used as such. Thus, the record supports the circuit court's determination that Poag owned fee simple residential property within the City and County of Honolulu. Appellants argue that Poag should not have been disqualified because he owned the property for business purposes. However, the plain language of ROH § 38-2.4 is both unqualified and unambiguous: No sale of condominium land within a development shall be made unless the lessees ... [d]o not own property in fee simple lands suitable for residential purposes. There being no ambiguity in the ordinance, this court is not at liberty to look beyond its plain language. See Ing, 100 Hawai`i at 189-90, 58 P.3d at 1236-37 (citations omitted). Therefore, we hold that the circuit court did not err in ruling that Poag was not qualified to participate in condemnation proceedings under ROH chapter 38.