2017-10-30 Hearing Transcript - Amendments to PC Rule 9 (Joint Meeting)

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seems that you would not be carrying out the policies of 205A. You could either decide to start reviewing minor permits yourself, anything that does not exceed $500,000. That's something you could do. Or, as you've done in the past, you could delegate minor permits to be determined by the Planning Director. The Planning Director is not trying to tell you we want to continue to do minor permits. It's up to you. It's up to the Planning Commissions to decide whether you want to review minor permits or not, but what I'm suggesting here is per State law, 205A, that section I just read to you, seems to imply that you're supposed to be carrying out the law as it reads under 205A. So, they've set the definitions for minor and major permits. So, if you're not going toNo. 1, if you're not going to change the rule to state what the State law has—let's say you continue with the 125,000 right now as it is stated in your rules, well, that's going to be kind of odd because you're giving the authority to the Planning Director to determine minor permits that do not exceed 125,000 in valuation. So, then that means that anything from 125,000 up to 500,000 would go to you as the Commission to determine for a minor permit. So, you're going to have two types of minor permits. Those that go to the Planning Department to be determined and those that go to the Planning Commission. Because the State law has set it at 500,000 up to but not exceeding 500,000 for a minor permit. CLARKSON: Yes, I wasn't implying that I favored that kind of structure, but I was wanting to be sure that I was correct. That, that was actually possible should we for some reason want to do it that way. But, it also raises the question that we actually did it that way, except since 2011, we left the rule there giving the Director authority on permits with a valuation no greater than 125,000, but we didn't, as a Commission, process any of the permits over that limit, but left it to the Department to do so in contravention of our rules. So, I'mI'm a little bit concerned about that. I don't know how much concern I should feel, but there's a little bit concern there. HENKEL: Any other questions? Leeward? KAY: None that I see, Mr. Chair. HENKEL: Windward? Okay, Jeff. DARROW: Thank you. I'd like to read something before I proceed, and this is the intent of the Legislature in enacting [Act] 153. It states, "The legislature finds that the cost of purchasing and importing construction materials, along with the cost of labor, has risen at a rate that has increased the overall cost of projects that, in the past, may have been viewed as insubstantial or minor. Furthermore, the increase in the number of these minor projects and the shortage of personnel that the various county planning departments are experiencing, have significantly slowed the review and processing of minor projects within the special management areas of the counties. The purpose of this Act is to expedite and facilitate work on projects that have been or may be stalled due to delays [relating] to special management area permitting requirements." So, I just wanted to make mention as to the intent of that, reason for the increase from 125 to 500. EXHIBIT A 30