City attorneys have sought court permission to demolish a partially collapsed, makeshift residential structure on Gulick Avenue in Kalihi Valley.

The complaint, filed Friday, names Loida and Grace Bumanglag Santos as owners of the property, and Daniel Cunningham as partial owner and landlord of the property.

It asks the court for permission to "demolish the illegal, unpermitted and unsafe scaffolding and tarpaulin structure."

Between March 2005 and October of this year, the complaint said, the defendants repeatedly built unsafe and unpermitted additions to the existing house on the property.

"At its peak," the complaint said, the structure stood "approximately 25 feet wide, 50 feet long and 40 feet high at its center."

"A vast majority of this structure was comprised of a metal scaffolding frame, plastic tarpaulin walls, wood flooring and a plastic tarpaulin roof," the city suit said.

Much of the illegal structure collapsed Oct. 26, and debris was strewn on the property and into Kalihi Stream.

The collapsed and standing portions of the illegal structure "are hazardous and unsanitary because they are comprised of an accumulation of junk, debris and garbage, create potential rat harborage, collect stagnant water and ... constitute a fire hazard, health hazard and safety hazard," the complaint said.

The complaint alleged that Cunningham last month repeatedly signed and then revoked agreements granting city personnel the right to enter the property and demolish and remove the illegal structure and debris.

The complaint asks the court to find the defendants liable for all the city's "remediation" costs, including legal fees and expenses.