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know why we wouldn’t, see I’m afraid that whenever bill gets brought forward from this body will
<br />end up being it for the County Council, because, you know, a lot of people took part for three years,
<br />it’s hard to get people to take, I’m missing work today, I’ve been to hearings all week, and I haven’t
<br />been able to go to do my work. There’s a lot of people that don’t have the luxury – I don’t really,
<br />either, but. Okay, there was insurances, that was one of the things Cory Harden and other people
<br />brought up, insurances for the use of shared driveways; that’s a huge thing for us, if there is
<br />liability. Neighborhood access, I live near Walua Road, which is again it’s like Middle Ke‘ei Road,
<br />it’s just substandard and can’t even handle more than it’s got now. Automatic approval is just not
<br />good in any situation. That’s just, I just don’t understand it. And complaint-driven is not the way
<br />the County works on every thing; we have traffic laws, we have building codes, and I don’t think in,
<br />like what one of the testifiers said is that for a neighbor to complain against the neighbor is very
<br />dangerous in many situations, and I think many of us have been threatened for what we have said in
<br />public, and that’s just, it’s not up to us to have to give our names and say somebody is doing this.
<br />So that, you know, I just, I really implore you to go through this list, and please, use your wisdom to
<br />include these things to protect neighborhoods, because I think it’s just going to end up being a
<br />nightmare for the County, which is also our money. So thank you for the time that you spend. I
<br />appreciate it. Aloha.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Thank you for testifying. Bobby Jean?
<br />
<br />LEITHEAD TODD: When I say that we are complaint-driven, it reflects the fact that I have, well, I
<br />think the Department started a few, maybe ten years ago with one inspector for the whole island.
<br />We are now up to four; we have two in Kona, two in Hilo. But we don’t have a program where you
<br />go out and regularly inspect anything within our Department basically because you have 4,000
<br />square miles, we have four inspectors, and we have enough complaints that they are always busy
<br />just following up on the complaints, rather than going out and doing inspection. I would love to be
<br />funded to the extent that I could have people that go out and routinely check on permits that we’ve
<br />issued. It may be that in the future, if the economy improves and there is more revenue to the
<br />County, that that should be something that should be addressed. And, you know, because it’s not
<br />for lack of desire, it’s just really the fact that we have four. And the other problem is is that even
<br />when we go on an inspection, if we cannot verify that the allegations are true, we also can only go
<br />on a property, if, if there is a no-trespassing sign, my guys cannot go on a property, because we
<br />have to kind of go with the consent of the property owner. So the law, I know it’s not strictly ag
<br />tourism, but basically if you are going to have enforcement, then you need to give some additional
<br />authority to the people that are going to do the enforcement, because we are limited. There are
<br />times when we go and we are not allowed on the property; so unless we can visibly see it from the
<br />nearest County road, we are not able to verify the complaints. And that’s an ongoing problem.
<br />
<br />But in the midst of looking at some of, like, the testimony from Cory, you have to be, I think you
<br />have to be careful about asking for more stringent regulations on ag tourism than you would on Ag.
<br />Like one of Cory’s things that say no noise beyond the property line; agriculture has a noise go
<br />beyond the property line. What you should be looking at instead is asking that they can generate no
<br />more noise than agriculture, but to say that no noise goes beyond the property line is one not
<br />enforceable and not doable. So I’m saying that sometimes when you ask for a lot of stuff, it
<br />becomes difficult to put into law because it’s beyond a zoning issue, it goes to other things.
<br />
<br />PALMA GLENNIE: Well, Bobby Jean, I think that on Cory’s about the, I think that, the thing
<br />about Cory’s list that had to do with ag tourism, I don’t, I think that if someone, No. 1, I think
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