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Finally, the Director's recommendation,the Planning Director recommends that the Planning <br /> Commission send a favorable recommendation of Bill 194 to the County Council. <br /> And with that, I'll hand the Chair, the floor back to the Chair. <br /> VITOUSEK: Mahalo. And we have with us Councilmember Holeka Inaba. Step forward. Right <br /> on. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on the matter before the Planning Commission? <br /> INABA: I do. <br /> VITOUSEK: Mahalo_ Please proceed with your presentation. <br /> INABA: Aloha kakahiaka, Chair Vitousek, Vice Chair DeFranco, Members of the Leeward <br /> Planning Commission. We are here today discussing Bill 194, which I introduced. As part of the <br /> process, we hear it first in the Planning Committee of the County Council, and then it's referred to <br /> both Planning Commissions, or to the Department, Planning Commissions, and then back to us, so <br /> we can get your folks' input on this legislation, any legislation affecting this part of the Code. <br /> So,two weeks ago I presented the same bill to the Windward Planning Commission who, as you <br /> know, forwarded a positive recommendation on the matter. And what we have here before us is <br /> really this idea of increasing transparency and accountability—transparency perhaps on the <br /> County side, accountability on applicants and developers who come before you folks and the <br /> County Council, seeking rezoning. So oftentimes for smaller rezoning projects, we are going to <br /> see a five-year time frame for subdivision approval or completion of all conditions of approval <br /> within a rezoning ordinance. They could be longer depending if it's a big project. But what we <br /> see right now—and this is not a practice just of the current Planning Department but one that goes <br /> back 40 years—is insertion of language within each rezoning bill that grants the authority to the <br /> Planning Director to grant an administrative extension of time, and that's pending, you know, <br /> whether it's unforeseen circumstances,there is a criteria within the Department that the <br /> Department uses to that whether or not they want to grant the administrative extension. <br /> What is being attempted here is to not allow that language to be inserted into bills anymore. If an <br /> applicant comes before you folks and before the Council and is agreeing to complete conditions <br /> within a certain amount of time, we look back at the ordinance, we should be able to know if it <br /> says five years from today, that five years from today, conditions are complete. We currently <br /> don't get reports, and it's not required that reports be submitted to you folks, to the Council, <br /> letting us know which projects received administrative extensions, but those extensions are <br /> granted. And it kind of puts us in a funky place, when you look at ordinances, whether they are <br /> technically stale—and I think we are going to have a conversation about stale ordinances—or if <br /> the Department did in fact grant. We are currently having internal communication with <br /> Corporation Counsel as well, because in some instances we've found that it's been the practice <br /> that administrative extensions are being granted after the five-year period has already actually <br /> come to an end. So, it's really to clean things up. And I've had good conversation with Planning <br /> staff, Corporation Counsel. <br /> 3 <br /> EXHIBIT G (DRAFT) <br />