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hundred twenty eight or more structures have already been destroyed, cut off, or <br />otherwise rendered at least temporarily uninhabitable by the lava eruption, the lava <br />eruption threatens to consume more structures, and the lava eruption has caused <br />emissions including gasses which along with the threatened hazard of potential lava <br />inundation, have caused a number of residents to voluntarily evacuate their residences; <br />and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the significant and growing number of residents displaced and/or <br />voluntarily evacuated due to the active lava eruption are in need of temporary <br />emergency shelter; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the County of Hawaiʻi has been providing temporary emergency <br />shelter for a number of residents displaced and/or voluntarily evacuated due to the <br />active lava eruption in shelters or on sites intended for very short-term temporary use; <br />however, due to the growing number of displaced or voluntarily evacuated persons, <br />undetermined duration of the active lava eruption, and the number of residents who <br />have permanently lost their residences, there is an immediate and growing need to <br />provide temporary emergency shelters for residents displaced and/or voluntarily <br />evacuated due to the active lava eruption which will also be used temporarily, but are <br />suitable for longer-term use; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, certain non-profit and/or other private entities have expressed <br />interest in providing longer-term temporary emergency shelters for persons displaced <br />and/or voluntarily evacuated due to the active lava eruption, which may require certain <br />site preparation and/or the construction and/or installation of structures that would <br />require certain reviews, approvals, and/or permits from the County of Hawaiʻi under <br />normal circumstances; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Section 127A-13(b)(1) Hawai‘i Revised Statute, provides that during <br />the emergency period, the Mayor may “[r]elieve hardship and inequities, or obstruction <br />to public health, safety, or welfare, found by the mayor to exist in the laws of the county <br />and to result from the operation of federal programs or measures taken under this <br />chapter, by suspending the county laws in whole or in part, or by the alleviating the <br />provisions of county laws on such terms and conditions as the mayor may impose...”; <br />and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the preparation, set-up, construction, and/or installation of the <br />temporary emergency shelters for displaced or voluntarily evacuated residents on either <br />public or private lands would normally require approvals, reviews, or permits from <br />various County of Hawaiʻi Departments pursuant to the following Chapters of the <br />Hawaiʻi County Code: Chapter 5, regarding Building; Chapter 9, regarding Electricity; <br />Chapter 10, regarding Erosion and Sedimentation Control; Chapter 17, regarding <br />Plumbing; Chapter 23, regarding Subdivisions; Chapter 25, regarding Zoning; and, <br />Chapter 26, regarding Fire; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, I find that if the Chapters of the Hawaiʻi County Code cited above <br />are maintained, then hardship and inequities, or obstructions to the public welfare will