The developers of a cemetery in the back of Hawai'i Kai have racked up more than $240,000 in fines for violating city permit regulations, but a spokesman said it is just a matter of time before the issue is cleared up.

The fines keep adding $1,000 a day until rectified and the violations have been referred to the city Corporation Counsel, said Henry Eng, director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

The violations are for stockpiling additional dirt, first issued on July 24, 2006, and two others for expired stockpiling permits, Eng said.

If the violations are not corrected in a timely manner, the next step would be for the city to attach a lien to the property, Eng said.

Trappeur Rahn, senior vice president for PRM Realty Group LLC, a Chicago-based firm that is developing the cemetery called Paradise Memorial Park, said his company is doing everything the city has asked.

"We are now awaiting a response from the city Department of Planning and Permitting to see if what we submitted is acceptable," Rahn said. "We have made it clear that we care about cooperating in whatever way we can."

The fines are the latest problem for the cemetery. Financing problems stalled progress the past two years, and complaints emerged as early as June 2005 over dust screens blocking trade winds and the possibility that the stockpiled dirt could wash into the nearby marina.

Rahn said plans are moving ahead.

"We still plan to build the cemetery," Rahn said. "If everything goes the way we think it will, we hope to start construction in the first quarter of next year."

The violations occurred when the city changed the rules on processing renewals on stockpiling permits, Rahn said. The other violation occurred because a rock wall built in coordination with stockpiling of dirt was built in the wrong location. Drawings have been redone and new plans submitted showing the wall, Rahn said.

"We still don't know if we will still owe the fines," Rahn said. "We don't know if our plans have been accepted."

Eng said the city does not make any dispositions until after the correction has been made. The city Department of Planning and Permitting is checking to see if the drawings that have been submitted are correct, Eng said.

Residents have complained at the monthly Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board meetings about the dust screens left in bad condition and about the notices of violations pending against the developer.

Steve Carr, president of the Hawai'i Kai Marina Association, said the stockpile permits and the amount of dirt stored at the site is a concern in case of a heavy rain. The privately owned marina, run by a board of directors, is charged with maintaining the waterway, Carr said.

"The company has to abide by the requirements of the city," Carr said. "Any negligence that causes any undue runoff concerns us greatly. If unchecked, the stockpile could cause additional problems into the marina that we would have to pay to have dredged."

The 69-acre cemetery is planned behind the farm lots in the back of Kamilo Nui Valley. The developer first announced its intention to build a cemetery in 2001.

After initial objections from the community, the developers moved forward and obtained permits from the city. Funding delays later stalled work on the cemetery, but Rahn said the project is now scheduled to resume the first quarter of 2008.

Rahn said he plans to make a presentation to the community before construction begins, but could not say when that would be.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.