2017-01-19 Leeward Exh A (Bill 227 Draft 2 re Agricultural Tourism)

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outdoor voices on cell phones to their mainland friends while real working people are still sleeping? And, by the way, who does one call at 5:45 a.m. or 25 minutes after sunset to enforce these regulations? And I can tell you from experience, no one. No permits except for structures? The bill we are looking at is full of the holes the public has tried to fill for years – rules that would protect agriculture, ag lands, neighbors, and the natural environment. My neighbors and I complained when so-called “garden tours” were taking place in our ag subdivision. It took a costly, wasteful lawsuit to stop the intrusive activities. My other friends weren’t so lucky; they won several lawsuits, including an appeal, against a so-called “ag tour operation” in their ag neighborhood. Yet, over a decade later, that property is still being used as a hotel, wedding and events venue. Our friends ended up selling their dream retirement home and viable farm instead of continuing to endure the illegal intrusions that were ignored by government agencies. And you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A Sierra Club testimony stated to the Windward Commission, the County can check integrating safety into agri tourism checklist. Two hundred- plus items that continue to be missing from our County’s ag tourism bills. And as we’ve asked again and again, please:  Add daily visitor counts, not weekly;  Don’t depend upon the honor system to prevent intrusive noise or anything else. That only works for those who already follow the rules;  Strike wording that allows extended hours under any circumstances. There is no one to call 25 minutes or two hours after sunset when the band plays on or ATVs go round and round under bright lights that keep neighbors awake and disorient the endangered ‘io that take shelter in trees;  Don’t pit neighbor against neighbor by asking them to snitch on each other. Not only isn’t it pono, it’s a strategy that can lead to long-term bad blood and even violence – and I have been threatened;  Don’t leave residents to squabble over shared easements like driveways because of a bad law that creates an untenable situation that didn’t previously exit;  Add wording that requires the County to undertake frequent, random visits, site visits, to ag tourism operations to insure compliance with the law. The bill should read, “There shall be a minimum of one unannounced, random visit each year and more, if there are complaints or reason to believe violations are taking place”;  Create restrictions that make the noise of ag operations undetectable to neighbors;  “May”s are not enough. “Shall” is the acceptable language to be used in this bill, or any bill;  A fine of a thousand dollars would be a slap on the wrist for some operators. A thousand dollars per day is more appropriate for those who continue to knowingly break the law. Finally and most important, there must be a guaranteed mechanism to insure funding for enforcement of any ag tourism rules. And it must be clearly shown that ag tourism legislation will actually help real farmers rather than increase tourism on ag lands. 3 EXHIBIT A