2003-05-08 TBLASMAN - Laserfiche WebLink

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FUJIKAWA:All right, any questions from the Commission? TORIGOE:Mr. Graham. FUJIKAWA:Commissioner Graham, go ahead. GRAHAM:I wondered if Mr. Yuen or Corp. Counsel could give us a little substantive commentary on the nature of the objection by Maile David, which appears to be that the terms of those, of two of the hearings officers have expired as Planning Commissioners. And I donÓt have the legal background to know the relevance of that. So maybe you could just tell us a little bit about that? FUJIKAWA:Go ahead, Mr. Torigoe. TORIGOE:Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Basically, the Planning Commission has authority under its rules and under the statutes to appoint hearings officers and they do not need to be members of the Commission. And, in this case, three people who were serving as commissioners at the time that they were appointed. But, as I said, the Commission has authority to appoint people who are not members of the Commission. And in the vast majority of cases where hearings officers are used, they are not currently sitting members of the Planning Commission. And, so, certainly, to the extent that the Commission has always had the authority to appoint non-Commission members as hearings officers, clearly, I think the Commission has the authority to affirm and reappoint and continue to have former Commissioners continue on as hearings officers, especially in a case like this where the hearing has already started and everyone has invested time into it. But, basically, I think itÓs pretty clear that the Commission does have this authority. FUJIKAWA:Good. Are there any other questions from the Commissioners? EverythingÓs fine? Okay, now weÓll listen to the testimony of the people who have signed up. Maile David, could you give us your full name and your address? DAVID:Yes. Good morning, my name is Maile David. My address is 78-6894 Mamalahoa Highway, Hlualoa, Hawai`i 96725. Before I state my written testimony, IÓd like to address Mr. GrahamÓs question, also. In this particular case, I agree totally with Mr. Torigoe that the Planning Commission does have the authority to appoint non-Commission members. However, itÓs my understanding that these non-Commission members are chosen from a list thatÓs available of people who have, IÓm not sure through what process, but there is a list of hearings officers that can be appointed. So I just wanted to add that to comment to Mr. TorigoeÓs. And I donÓt believe, unless they are, but I donÓt believe that Ms. Giffin and Mr. Togashi are on that list since I last checked, so thatÓs why IÓm raising this. Okay, IÓm going to do my testimony but do you want to -? 3