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HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONPage 15 of 51
<br />RAY: That concludes our Statements from the Public.
<br />NITSCHE: May I add one thing I forgot to add in mine at this point? Would that be out of line?
<br />RAY: Come on up. This is additional testimony by Mr. Nitsche. Yes, come on up.
<br />NITSCHE: I think the main thing that I forgot to bring to everybody’s attention was the policing of
<br />illegal dwellings being built. I know there’s a problem with permitting but there’s a lot of illegal
<br />dwellings being built in Oceanview, and I don’t think I brought that up, probably. Nobody seems to be
<br />addressing this problem. We have much of this going on in our area, and I think, I don’t know how it is
<br />in the other parts of the island, but in our area, we have a lot of it going on. And the only time anything
<br />gets done is when the citizens of the community bring it to the attention, over and over and over, then
<br />finally we get some action on it, but it takes a lot to get it done. I think it should be more efficiently
<br />handled when it is brought to the attention of the proper authorities that buildings are being built without
<br />permits, in a substandard way, with no cesspools, no septic tanks, and nothing of this order. I think it
<br />should be taken care of more promptly and then the thing that is always brought to my mind when I
<br />bring this up, or other people bring it up, well, we don’t have the funds to do this. Well, I think this
<br />could be a self funding operation. When the people are caught doing these things wrong, they’re fined,
<br />and then right away, bang, bang, bang, if they don’t comply in a certain length of time, then a lien is put
<br />against the property, and some teeth should be put into it. I think we’ve probably got a lot of laws this
<br />way, and I’m not really familiar with it, but they’re not being enforced, so the enforcement, I think, is
<br />the main concern of most of us citizens in Oceanview, where I’m from. I just wanted to add that to it.
<br />It’s the enforcement that’s the big problem. Thank you.
<br />RAY: Thank you. We have representatives here from the Planning Department and hopefully, the Public
<br />Works Department, to continue our discussion. This is Item VII. A. Discussion on the Creation of a
<br />Division of Permitting. We, as you’ll recall, initially had this idea brought forth back in June, and
<br />members of the Public Works Department, Mr. Sumada, were present at that time, as well as the Mayor,
<br />and so as part of this discussion, we wanted to make sure that we had the Public Works Department here
<br />since they would be the agency receiving this new Division of Permitting should the public approve it,
<br />and should we put it forward, so do you folks have anything to lead off with, or do you want us to ask
<br />you questions, or, I know Ms. Goldstein made a presentation and furnished us with a working paper
<br />which had specific language in it at the last meeting? Mr. Sumada.
<br />SUMADA: Why don’t I start off by saying that, on behalf of the Department of Public Works, we
<br />support this initiative to consolidate, or combine, the functions into a Permitting Division within the
<br />department. I think we’re still in the conceptual planning stages of this initiative. Much of the details, I
<br />think, still need to be worked out. We have not discussed it with our staff that extensively, and we need
<br />to do that, as well as coordinate with the Union, or the Unions that are effected. I think what has been
<br />passed out to you is a conceptual organizational chart for this new division, and I think, at that time, the
<br />concept was a Land Use and Code, but I think it’s been revised to a Division of Permitting, to be under
<br />the Department of Public Works. Basically, under that, each of the different branches would be pretty
<br />much as depicted there. And again, we still have to work out some details, the coordination between the
<br />different functions within each of those branches, as well as the possible reassigning of duties that could
<br />possibly make it more efficient, or to achieve the end of what we’re trying to propose, which is this one-
<br />stop permitting process, and also to possibly achieve some efficiencies and better communication by
<br />having all those functions relating to permitting within one office, and I think there’s a lot of benefit that
<br />could be gained if it’s approached in the proper manner, or attitude, by staff.
<br />RAY: Specifically, does anybody have questions for Mr. Sumada?
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