BIL 242 Draft 01 2014-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The County of Hawaii therefore intends to ensure that all decisions made by the County that individually or cumulatively affect our natural and cultural resources are made in a manner consistent with a high level of scrutiny, openness, deliberation, and foresight. Section 16- — Authority. The authority to impose long-term sustainability standards is granted to counties by: (1) The Hawaii Revised Statutes, section 46-1.5 "General powers and limitation of the counties," specifically item (13), which provides: "Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect health, life, and property, and to preserve the order and security of the county and its inhabitants on any subject or matter not inconsistent with, or tending to defeat, the intent of any state statute where the statute does not disclose an express or implied intent that the statute shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the State." (2) The Hawaii County Charter section 13-29 "Conservation of Natural and Cultural Resources," which provides: "For the benefit of present and future generations, the county shall conserve and protect Hawai`i's natural beauty and all natural and cultural resources, including but not limited to land, water, air, minerals, energy sources, wahi pana, surf spots, historic sites, and historic structures, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self- sufficiency of the county. All public natural and cultural resources are held in trust by the county for the benefit of the people." (3) The Hawaii State Constitution, Article XI, Section 9, which provides: "Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment, as defined by laws relating to environmental quality, including control of pollution and conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources. Any person may enforce this right against any party, public or private, through appropriate legal proceedings, subject to reasonable limitations and regulation as provided by law." Section 16-_ Definitions. As used in this article, unless otherwise specified: "`Auwai" means a man-made water channel predominately used for irrigation. "Community development plan" means a County comprehensive plan for an area within the County adopted by ordinance pursuant to section 15.1 of the general plan. Wherever used in this article, such use shall be applicable only to those planning areas that have officially adopted a community development plan, pursuant to section 16-2. 2