HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOREDC 2021/10/19 2020-2022 Committee on Governmental Operations,
Relations, and Economic Development
16th Session
West Hawaii Civic Center
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A
Kailua-Kona, Hawai i
October 19, 2021
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations,
ORDER: and Economic Development was called to order at 10:31 a.m., in the Council
Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair
Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair (via videoconference from Hilo)
Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member
Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member
Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member
Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (via videoconference from Hilo)
(came in later)
Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member
Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member
Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member (came in later)
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items.
PUBLIC ON
AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward
when called by the Chair:
Cory Harden: Comm. 420, comment.
Colehour Bondera: Res. 223-21 (Comm. 421), comment.
(representing Kona
Coffee Farmers Association)
Bruce Corker: Res. 223-21 (Comm. 421), comment.
Janice Palma-Glennie: Comm. 420, comment.
CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Clerk, we'll begin at the top of the agenda with
Communications, please.
GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
CATIONS: Communications.
Comm. 420: REQUESTS A DISCUSSION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING
THE FILM INDUSTRY PERMITTING PROCESS AND THE HAWAII
ISLAND FILM OFFICE
From Council Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, dated September 27, 2021.
Motion to Close File: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 420.
Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. KIMBALL: Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Mahalo, Chair. I have Director Adams here from
Research and Development just to kind of tee-up the conversation. We've read in
the papers over the last few months about the Love Island production. And
Director, we're just hoping for some clarity in community, as Council, as to what
the process is here on Hawaii Island to obtain film permits.
And I just want to preface everything with a quote that was submitted by the
Mayor to the Tribune Herald. He says, "Our Administration is aware of
community concerns associated with the filming and production of Love Island
here in our County. And we are working diligently with the projection crew to
assess and mitigate each of them. As the first production under our
Administration, there have been teachable moments, which we look forward to
learning from and addressing in future productions." Hoping you can elaborate
on what those teachable moments are. So we'll follow-up with any questions
based on your presentation.
(Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams
came forward to address the members of the Committee.)
MR. ADAMS: Absolutely, thank you very much, Council Members. And thank
you, Chair for the opportunity to talk about our film industry here on the island
and the County's participation is a part of that regulatory oversight process. I
should mention, you asked specifically about some of the teachable moments. I
will get to that as a part of the conversation here.
We have four categories of oversight when it comes to the permitting process.
County, State, Federal, and private. The County, we have a film commissioner
position that is part of my department. That individual has the responsibility for
both the film that occurs in the County, on County land, and works in concert
with the other departments that have responsibility. In particular Parks and
Recreation, that has permitting responsibilities for County lands.
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And then oftentimes Planning, because of the Special Management Areas that
they have responsibility for oversight on. In particular, a recent law that was
passed at the State Legislative area where anything that is SMA (Special
Management Area) needs to go through County Planning. And then any
temporary structures less than six months oftentimes require Public Works'
permitting responsibilities.
If there are State lands that are involved, then the State Film Office is involved
and has responsibility for those. And then the communication between the
County and the State mostly is good, but there are times when it has not been as
good as it needs to be. And so that is was one of those teachable moments. And
so we are working to rectify any of the disruptions in communication that occur
between the County and the State Film Offices when there's a need for that.
Federal lands primarily are national parks. Those issue their own permits. So if
there was going to be filming or still photography that's going to take place on
Federal lands, then they go to those areas for that.
And then finally private lands, private property. There is no permit specifically
that's required. Again, if there are structures that are going to be temporarily built
on those lands, private lands, then yes, temporary permit requirement is
established.
So that's the basic structure of how we approach the permitting. Now, following
the—and as a result of the implications of some of the work that came out of the
Love Island production, granted,things did not go this will be the
understatement. Things did not go the way that we would have liked to.
Following that production, we had interdepartmental meetings that talked about
the process itself and reviewed exactly who has responsibility for what as a part of
this. So it clarified the roles of County and State entities in the film permitting
process.
DPW (Department of Public Works) reviewing building permit applications that
have been submitted online for structures up to six months. A temporary structure
permit is requested for each structure but not for each TMK(Tax Map Key), for
example.
And then there's the coordination that occurs with Planning, Fire, and the
Department of Health. And it's focused on safety issues. COVID (Coronavirus)
is something separate and we can talk about that separately.
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Parks and Recreation coordinates with the County Film Office to review permit
applications for Parks and Recreation facilities. In particular beach parks on land,
on a case-by-case basis. Focus issues are parking, local traffic and use, and the
numbers of crew and cast. And then they pay attention to what the park hours are
as well.
Planning has responsibility, as I mentioned before for the Special Management
Area and the Special Management Area assessment applications for each TMK.
Focus areas are provisions for temporary structures. Building and set-back areas
per HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) 201-14 that refers to the County to obtain the
permits. And the process can take up to two weeks, thirty days max, and
designates who actually conducts the reviews and the site visits.
Police have responsibility for any road closures. And so you have to work with
them. In addition, if there's any special duty officer responsibilities. And they
also have the means to manage that.
State Department of Transportation reviews applications for production on State
rights-of-way. Also, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, DLNR,
Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands reviews applications for productions on
submerged lands three miles out from the coastline. The Department of Aquatic
Resources out of DLNR reviews applications for productions that are fully
submerged in water past three miles out from the coastline. And the focus here is
on marine management, fisheries and monitoring. And then, DOBOR, the
Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, reviews applications for productions
that occur on boats.
So as part of the conversation that occurred and clarified roles, it was clear that
there needs to be better communication, particularly as a result of the Love Island
production. So the use of the Hawaii Island Film Office website to identify what
criteria are for production at open and accessible parks and who they go through.
Also the idea of using the new Electronic Processing and Information Center, the
EPIC program. So we are taking a look if there's something that can be included
in that online permitting that would then allow for the to go to the film office.
So a connection online for that work there.
And then, because all inspecting departments and surveying departments have
access to that program then everyone would see what's happening real-time.
And then finally the idea of putting together ArcGIS Dashboard on the film office
website that would allow for scouts potentially and others to be able to see what's
available, and where it's available, and where they might go.
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So as a part of the production piece, there is one thing here that we haven't
mentioned, and that has to do with the contact. Particularly when you're dealing
with private areas. Making sure that we're talking to the productions that are on
private property about contacts with the neighbors. We do that already as a part
of our special event requests dealing with COVID. For example, we make sure
that if there are private property activities, part of what we're doing is making
sure that the individuals that are making the requests are in contact with their
neighbors about whatever the event is going to be, so that there is that
communication that's ongoing. It needs to be the same for any filming or any
creative activity that's going to be done on private property. Making sure that the
neighborhood is aware of what's going on. The good productions do this as a
matter of course. It is making sure that all productions do it as a matter of course
in our conversations.
The marketing that—so production piece is making sure that they understand
what their responsibilities are and we understand what they're going to be doing
as well. And there's a layout of what their time requirements are. All of the
things that you would anticipate there being some questions about,that needs to
be followed. And in fact, on a current ongoing production that has occurred
we've had those communications, those conversations with the production,
identified specifically where they're going to be and what they're going to be
doing, working both with the production team as well as the on-island scout and
production assistant. And so we have taken on the information that we've gained
from this particular situation that occurred back in the Summer and are already
applying it to productions that are occurring now.
And then from the communication with the State, we are much more tuned with
the State Film Office in regular contact with them about both things that they have
that are ongoing that they have responsibility for, and then anything that we have
that's ongoing just to make sure that we don't miss that there isn't a gap that
occurs as a result of that.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Director. I was able to get some information
from the State Film Office, a copy of all the, you know, the permits for various
film productions. I don't see anything for Love Island. Can you just kind of
clarify why that might be the case?
MR. ADAMS: All of the Love Island production was going to be on private
property. So we do not issue permits for private property. The permits for the
Special Management Area was, I would say an oversight except that it was a
confusion.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Can you elaborate?
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MR. ADAMS: Yes. We didn't think that there was a requirement for it, and it
turned out there was.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: And when you say, "We,"that determination was made
by ?
MR. ADAMS: My department.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay.
MR. ADAMS: And so then, when Planning learned about the production,
because up to that point, there wasn't a requirement for them to know it. When
they learned about it through the media. Then they went and checked on it, and
said, "No, no, no, there's a permit requirement here."
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Because it's a SMA.
MR. ADAMS: Correct.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And they were also in the Tribune Herald talks
about there being structures already being built without any permits formally
being bled.
MR. ADAMS: We actually did work with Department of Public Works about the
temporary structure requirement. There were, to my understanding, there were
not requirements for the kind of structures that were being built that later was
determined to not be an accurate determination. And that was a combination.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I'm on your website, there's certainly more
information regarding the permits. I think it could be fleshed out a little bit more.
I think when you talk about how film production crews need to engage
community, we need to find a way that they are doing this. Not to just check the
box, but they're doing it in a meaningful way. So suggesting some kind of
community outreach toolkit. I think a series of webinars to kind of talk people
through the process is really helpful.
Everything you've shared here I can read online, but people process information
differently. So having those webinars available and also a timeframe. People
can't just show up and expect the permit in two weeks, right? We've got people
waiting for building permits for housing.
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And so I just want to make sure that there is a very clear process and guideline in
place for the industry. Because in all of the testimony that we've heard and we've
read, it's not that people are against the industry. It's if you come here, come here
with the sense of respect and follow protocol. So I just want to make sure your
office is sort of administering that. Who exactly is leading the film office right
now?
MR. ADAMS: Frecia Cevallos is our person in that the temporary assignment,
into the Film Commissioner position.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Because she also wears the Tourism Specialist hat.
MR. ADAMS: She does.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: She's wearing two hats or just this one?
MR. ADAMS: No, she is in a temporary assignment as a Film Commissioner,
but she is also our Tourism and Cultural Specialist.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. And you are actively recruiting to fill this particular
position?
MR. ADAMS: Yes.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I love Frecia. But again, I'm also concerned about the
bandwidth and capacity of all of the folks here at the County that are wearing
multiple hats.
MR. ADAMS: You and me both.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. The last thing. Music to my ears to hear that there
is a process for us to have films happen on County property. Somebody reached
out to our office. There's some folks that were involved with the Netflix hit,
Sweet Tooth. And so they're putting together a small film production and wanted
to utilize the Pahoa office. What's the process?
MR. ADAMS: So if we're aware of it and it comes to the Film Office, and you
would anticipate that it would, then we immediately go to the Parks and
Recreation Private Secretary, and that is the process. Then it opens into the Parks
and Recreation Department. They review the request and make a judgment
whether or not to approve it or not. And then it comes back, and our ability then
is to let the film production team know whether it's been approved or not.
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MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I sent you and Corporation Counsel an email
because I tried to play through that process. Parks and Recreation said, "It's not
our facility." And kind of kicked it back to us. So, you've shared the process
with me, tested it out. Not to trying to, a"got ya" moment, but you know, we
have to make sure for ourselves that the process is clear and working. So I want
to follow-up with you personally to figure out how we get through this. Because
this is another potential income source for our County and an opportunity to
spotlight Pahoa Town.
The last question I have for you is related to COVID protocols. Who's in charge
of enforcing that? And I bring that up because I know some folks that were
working on the production and they were very concerned about the lack of proper
COVID protocols being implemented throughout the production.
MR. ADAMS: So it depends on the production to be able to address that on a
case-by-case basis. The COVID protocols, first of all, the productions in just
about throughout all the industries throughout the State, the solid productions, I
will say that the mature production teams have implemented the best COVID
protocols that exist as a part of the industry. The film industry has done a
marvelous job. I think we have to say that. And then, on our island and in the
other counties, those mature productions know how to and have implemented
COVID safety practices that are top standard.
When there are requests that are made for special events, as has been the case
with a recent production, an ongoing production, and we have reviewed what they
are asking and where they are asking and then what their safety protocols are. In
the cases that we're aware of, we ask that there be a coordinator for safety. And
that allows us to have a point person for any questions that are occurring in a
particular area if somebody comes and has particular issues with the way
something has been characterized.
And then we have, as we do with all of our even requests, taken a look at what is
actually occurring to make sure that it falls in line with and abides by the Mayor's
emergency rule that's in effect at that point.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, so that's in general. But can you tell me for the
Love Island production, did they have that COVID Safety Coordinator? Was
there anybody from County or State doing surprise visits to make sure, you know,
protocols were in place?
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MR. ADAMS: We have not done surprise visits from the County for any of the
COVID requests. It has been enforced as a part of our standard Police
Department activities. So the answer is, we didn't do any surprise COVID safety
reviews. And then the process of reviewing, I'd have to go back and take a look.
I don't remember right now if we had something for that particular production.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thanks for all the questions, and for being here
today, and for your work to bring more clarity to the process; and allowing us to
just ask questions so we can support our community. Thanks Director. Chair, I
yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member
Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Yeah, Doug, I just have one question. I might have some related
questions to it, though. When did the County first get notified of this production?
MR. ADAMS: Council Member Chung, you're talking about the Love Island
production?
MR. CHUNG: Yes, I'm sorry.
MR. ADAMS: That's okay. So that, we were aware of that early on in the
Administration, is my understanding. It may have been at the end of the last
Administration, but it was in that time period. November, December, January
time period.
MR. CHUNG: Okay, alright, that's all. Thank you.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Anyone else?
Council Member Richards, go ahead.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Director, do we have an idea of what the
running financial impact of having the film industry in our County is? I realize
it's going to be an average over several years, but do we have sort a peaks and
trough idea of what economic impact we're bringing to our County?
MR. ADAMS: The financial impact revenues for the County is frankly difficult
to know. The State manages, and we have an idea of what the State is. So for
example, in 2019, the revenues that came in were over $300 million.
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The County, because we have, as you mentioned, the ebbs and flows of film
production on the island, we can have really good years and then we can have
virtual nothing years as a result. So it's much more difficult to identify a regular
running number associated with the County's amount. I apologize, we can
definitely go back and take a look if there's something specific to that, but I don't
have a number for you that is kind of an average or even a median number.
MR. RICHARDS: I appreciate that Director, and maybe we could look at that
and give Council a little summary of the last, say half-a-dozen years or so if we
have that data available. Again, listening to the conversation and listening to the
testifiers, impacting the communities' life is reminiscent of some of the things
even when Ms. David talked about earlier when making a change in Parks and
Rec. I want to be very sensitive to our neighbors and our community as far as the
impact. I'm all about economic growth, provided it is in a positive light and it's
not impacting our community without too much problem. So, appreciate those
numbers. Thanks, Chair. I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Council Member
Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. And Director Adams, maybe you covered
this part, but I wanted to understand something way—like further upfront in the
film-making process, like the scouting process. Do you have like a sketch of what
that scouting process looks like? Because in my opinion, that's when they're just
kind of looking at our island. That's when we should start identifying what kind
of permits that they have. Do we have a way to track filmmakers going through a
scouting process?
MR. ADAMS: Council Member Lee Loy, thank you for the question. The
answer is, if they come to us, we know it. If they are just scouting without talking
to anybody in the film office or in the department, the answer is we don't. It is
often by word of mouth if they have not approached the film office, that the
commissioner who is tied into the film industry on the island often hears that there
are scouts. And then if there is activity, the film commissioner will often reach
out to ensure exactly what you're talking about, which is, are they acting in
accordance with the regulations that are part of the film industry on this island and
in the state.
But people fly in, they do location scouting. There is no requirement for them to
report to the film office to say, "I need my badge that allows me to go around the
island."
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MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, I think that would be a nice place to start introducing
ourselves. Whether it's, you know, individuals who may be part of the film crew
or scouts that they hire to start educating them with different protocols for our
island. I think everybody in the industry is here filming because of our special
places. And it feels like they're taking advantage of that. They're taking
advantage of our special places; they're taking advantage of our building process
where they're kind of short-circuiting or getting in front of others who are trying
to build a home.
It just feels that their barriers are getting lowered while people in the community
who understand how important this place is, is being held to a different standard.
And I just think that would be a wonderful place for us to start a conversation and
begin to mediate some of this. And letting our community know and applying for
the right permits.
You know, I want to thank Ms. Kierkiewicz for bringing this forward. I think
there's a lot of work to be done around this, especially with the notification
process. Yeah you know, Ms. Kierkiewicz, maybe in a couple months we can
revisit this and see what kind of gains we made including gathering the
information that Mr. Richards was looking for as far as the economic benefits and
weighing that against our resources,just to understand the return on investment.
I'm going to yield at this time, Chair. Thank you.
MR. ADAMS: Chair, if I may respond.
CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Director Adams.
MR. ADAMS: Thank you. Council Member Lee Loy, thank you for your
comments. I would like to say that the team that is working these issues and
across the departments, they work hard. They, as you articulated, have a lot of
things that they're taking a look at, particularly if they are inspectors, looking at a
variety of things. I'm not aware that we're asking for any particularly separate
lane for productions.
We take what is asked, absolutely along the lines of what Council Member
Kierkiewicz talked about. These productions show up, usually the more mature
ones show up quite a bit early. And then are identifying, you know, some of the
issues and things that they're going to be concerned about. And we can have
those conversations with them at that time. So that's not normally two weeks or a
month beforehand, it's usually many months beforehand. And then we're able to
have those conversations.
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The key of course is productions have transitions, and making sure that the people
that you're talking to at the beginning are either the same people that are showing
up or have communicated with the folks that are showing up. So that there isn't
that gap within the production teams as well.
I should mention, I think that the creative arts has the potential to be one of those
signature economic areas. That when we talk about economic diversification, and
revitalization of the economy. We have the ability here on this island with the
kind of quality in the creatives that we have here, to be substantially better in
providing not just in economic benefit but a quality of life benefit for the folks
that are in are creative sector. And I see the video side of that being a major piece
of that.
So absolutely, we want to make sure that we're doing the right thing. I
understand both you and Council Member Richards when it comes to making sure
that we are—whatever we're doing that is economic needs to be community
based, equity based, and sustainable. But this is an area that I don't want to
necessarily squash down. I think it's something that we need to look at. Make
sure that we're doing it right, but that we try to build. Because this becomes
something for our children's future.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director Adams. Council Member Lee Loy, you
had a follow-up?
MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you. You know, I wanted—Director Adams, what
type of relationship does Hawaii County have with our State Film Commission?
And I'm asking that question because the State offers tax credits to the film
industry when they're filming here. And so, I almost feel like that is actually the
first touch point for them. So why don't we start there? What kind of
relationship does the County have with our State Film Commissioner?
MR. ADAMS: Turns out Donne Dawson and I know each other through our
families. But besides that, the communication has gotten better over the last few
months. There have been times when there has been a focus by the State Film on
some of the larger productions that are going on in Oahu. And I think probably
quite natural. And as we see all of the islands begin to support more of the film
industry, the State Film Office is showing more interest, or a greater connection is
probably the right way to say that, with each county and each of the island's film
offices.
So for us, we're seeing both at the film office and also the division of creative
industry, creative arts that is part of the Department of Business, Economic
Development and Tourism, DBEDT. That those connections are solid
connections. I meet with DBEDT on a monthly basis, if not, more often. I have
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conversations with both Georgia at Creative Arts and Donne at the film office on
a regular basis as well. So we are communicating and Frecia, and prior to that
Justin, also maintain Donne and the film office.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you for sharing that. I think if we build up that
relationship that would be a huge opportunity. Do you know if through the state
film industry if a filmmaker either violates their permit or, you know, has some
infractions, are they still able to apply for that tax credit?
MR. ADAMS: I believe that they can apply but I'm not sure that they necessarily
are able to get it. Let me follow-up and get you an answer on that, okay?
MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, that would be helpful because, you know, it's carrots and
sticks right? There's an incentive with the tax credit for a film industry, and here
we are struggling to identify a process that really does maybe have incentives,
right? Carrots. Or sticks when they aren't following COVID protocols or not
filling out a Special Management Area permit, or a special permit, or even a
temporary building permit. I think maybe there's some teaching moments in that
process that the state uses as far as incentivizing film industry with the tax credits.
But yeah, if you could look into that, I'd love to hear about how that process, and
how maybe we could braid some of those things into our process. Thank you,
Chair for allowing me to follow-up. I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Of course. Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Anyone
else here in Kona? Chair David.
MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Kimball. Aloha, Mr. Adams. I just have a few
questions regarding the statements that you made with respect to private
landowners. So is it then, if a private landowner decides to accommodate a film
industry by having them film on their property, is there anything that they need to
do permit-wise, notification of the County or anything like that at this point in
time? Or are we totally out of that loop?
MR. ADAMS: Thanks, Chair David. If there is no other reason for a permit to be
required, structure, or you know, something like that,the answer is, the private
landowner has no obligation to provide that information to the government.
MS. DAVID: I see. And so, they are left on their own good graces to actually
decide whether they should contact the County and say, "Hey I need a building
permit." Or do they just proceed, and you know, that's my fear.
MR. ADAMS: Sure. I think that most of the inspections that we have ongoing, if
they are not—you've been doing this a lot longer than I have, Chair David. If
they're—oftentimes it's complaint basis for the inspections or the surveys that
may get done. And so, typically, if there is something that is ongoing on one
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property and it seems to be out-of-sorts with whatever the regulations are, it
typically is going to be a member of the community that is letting the County
know for that inspection to occur.
MS. DAVID: And that's my concern, is that most of the violations that we have
to deal with or contend with are complaint driven. And so if we're dealing with a
private property that is thousands of acres, they're basically secluded from the rest
of the world. And so, that's one concern that I have.
And thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz, for bringing this up because there was a lot of
questions being asked during the filming of Love Island. And so, my next
question is, for Love Island, what issues—did you say you folks discovered issues
during the filming that were needed to be addressed? What were those issues?
MR. ADAMS: We discovered that they were in a Special Management Area and
so that needed to be addressed. They had put up a temporary structure that was a
little larger than what we had been led to believe. There were, as we heard in
some of the community testimony there were events that were occurring that
were not part of the production plan that had been provided to us that were going
to have impact on the neighborhood. As we learned about those things, whether it
was the State Film Office or within the County, then we addressed them as we
learned about them.
MS. DAVID: Are there any fines imposed for these violations that we as the
County can actually gain from this misbehavior and just not go unpunished. Do
we have any provisions somewhere that would allow us to impose fines for these
violations?
MR. ADAMS: Chair, I actually would have to check that. I am not aware of any
fines but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.
MS. DAVID: Right, but I really think that it should be because, you know, to let
things go, violations go without any consequences. I think it's important, because
what I am concerned about is, it is such a unique and special industry that this
island, specifically, has so many out-of-the-way areas that are very special and
very unique. And I do not feel that, as you say, this is a great industry and it
provides economics for our children. I agree to a certain extent because what I
witnessed in my lifetime is what we cherish about this island, and it's also
cherished by the people that want to capitalize on that also. And it becomes for
me in my eyes like an exploitation.
And I really want to caution ourselves to be very mindful of this, and specific in
what we allow to happen here, especially since we have a lot of areas that are now
being preserved by the Public Access Open Space fund, right? Our coastal
important lands, and those things are important. And so, I know those will have
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
to come before the County if they intend to do some business in those parcels.
But it's the other issues about balancing the economics of the film industry with
where we are today, because I just think we have so many issues that we need to
address before we get into the movie business. That's my personal opinion.
So anyway, thank you. And if you get back to me on those fines, I think, if we
don't have them, I think we need to implement something because other than that,
it's just a free-for-all. So,thank you, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair David. Director Adams, a response or—?
MR. ADAMS: I think that it'sI completely concur with the Chair when it
has there is clearly a balance that has to be struck and to the degree that we can
both identify the balance but also use the filming, use the productions, as an
opportunity to enhance that balance; to educate, to share what the kuleana and
how to act pono. All those things can be part of productions and not necessarily
be presented in a way that is inaccurate and not how we obviously want.
We're seeing some of that occur with our island industry, the folks that are here or
from our state. And those are the kinds of things that we want to promulgate, that
we want to encourage,those kinds of productions. We are the government.
We're not in the censoring business, but I think that we can share with those that
come to our shores, what is considered acceptable as a part of the process.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director Adams. Council Member Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. Director Adams, when you do check in on our rules or
law regarding fines, can you please submit that to all Council Members. I think
it'll be good for us all to know as we proceed. Because regardless if there was an
internal error this time, I do believe that all large productions like this are
probably very aware of what our requirements are to film here in the County.
And if we failed to collect any permitting fees or anything like that doesn't
prohibit us or prevent us from collecting fines for knowingly choosing to not
apply for permits here in the County. So it would be good for all of us as a
Council to know that information. That's all I have, thank you, Chair.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Anybody? Yes, go
ahead Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Came a little late
to the conversation, but very interesting. I mean are we specifically wondering
about Love Island here? I've heard Love Island, I hear permitting, I hear
everything. Why are we here, Mr. Adams?
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
MR. ADAMS: The request from the Council from this particular committee was
to come and talk about the processes that the County's involved in when it comes
to film permitting. A most recent example of that is the Love Island production,
so that came up in conversation. It was also a precursor to some of the
conversations that we've had within the Administration among the departments
about the film permitting process and how we can improve it.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Would you say that the film industry here on
the island is beneficial to the County? Or, and I guess I'm thinking even if there
was a permit fee that they may have skipped, are we talking $100,000 that we
missed out on? Or are we talking a few hundred dollars?
MR. ADAMS: So I'm just going to be precise with my language, if that's okay
Council Member. I don't know that the County as a jurisdiction necessarily
makes a lot of money on this. I think that the community gains from the variety
of productions and the film industry that occurs.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: The residual income from a large industry
coming in.
MR. ADAMS: Also for folks that are here, right.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, that makes sense. I'd have to agree
with that statement as well. Being a small business owner, you know, we see
when businesses come in because they spend money. I mean years in the
restaurant business, I've seen it. The people doing the productions come in and
spend money in the restaurants. So I'm interested in the amount of money that we
may have lost out on due to the permitting process or lack of permits, or whatever
else it takes to get film moving here on the island, but I think it'll be very small.
MR. ADAMS: For that particular production, because it was in the middle of a
COVID situation, I'm sure that we've lost, but I would say it was because we
were in the COVID situation as opposed to—which meant that they were just not
going to be able to go out with the production to the variety of places that they
originally were looking to do, where they would then have probably spent more
money in the community.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, if I remember correctly, the developer
who owns Naniloa, where the production was, correct?
MR. ADAMS: The production was on the Hamakua Coast, but the production
crew was staying at the Grand Naniloa.
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, and then that pretty much was a make
or break for the Naniloa Corporation. From what I got in the papers, they were
behind in their taxes, and without that influx of cash from Love Island, they may
not have been here today. That's what I got from the paper.
MR. ADAMS: I understand.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: I thought that was interesting.
MR. ADAMS: I don't have any additional information to share with you about
that, sorry.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then they were here for about six
months.
MR. ADAMS: No,they were only here for about two months. A
month-and-a-half to two months.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So they wouldn't be considered residents, it
definitely would be transient accommodations. I'm just looking at our tax bill
(Bill 81) today, and was looking over (Section) 237D (Hawai`i Revised Statutes)
and reading through that and wrapping around what they would be considered in
the eyes of State and County.
Interesting conversation. Yeah, I'm interested the part that got me was private
landowner participating in something like this. I think where they stayed was the
same place that Justin Bieber stayed when he was on the island. That nice big
concrete house on the Hamakua Coast.
But how a private landowner interacts with film industry and then with the
County and how that all works. That is interesting. Any other interesting things
we've learned from this? Any takeaways that you got from this?
MR. ADAMS: The Council is concerned about the industry and the County's
connection both with the industry and with the State and making sure that our
processes, both as a department, as a film office, and within and among the
departments, making sure that those processes are as clear as possible. Yeah,
those things all concern me.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And we do have a State office, as
Ms. Lee Loy brought up, and the tourism sector is extremely well-funded within
the State. And you have a portion of that funding here at the County level as well.
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
MR. ADAMS: Anything that we're getting into the department is all General
Fund. So we don't see anything that is specific from the film. We don't make
any residuals that comes directly to the film office for example. We're part of the
County just like everybody else.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: But we have a tourism portion of your
budget that we looked at during our budget season.
MR. ADAMS: Both the Council and the Administration have funded marketing
and management activities involved in the tourism sector and continue to do so.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, well I appreciate the questions that
you've answered, and interesting conversation. I guess we'll see where it goes.
Okay, thank you Chair, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kierkiewicz,
any final thoughts.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, thank you, Chair. Mahalo nui, Director Adams.
Clearly we're very interested in this topic and we'd love to invite you back to the
Council in a few months, if it's okay with you. Wanting to get an update on
industry fines, as Chair David had mentioned. Council Member Richards brought
up the economic benefit. And Council Member Lee Loy and I are really
interested in the process for folks to obtain permits.
Again, the information is on the website, but I think it would be really useful if
there was some sort of tool where they could assess based on the location and the
kind of film production. What permits would be applicable in their particular
situation.
MR. ADAMS: If I may, Council Member? Just so I understand what you're
asking. So when you say, they, you mean the productions or do you mean
someone else?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: For which part, sorry. I said a lot of things.
MR. ADAMS: So the last part where you said you'd like to have something
that's available on the website where they can
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Film production crews, yes. I mean I see information here
to scout locations where you've elevated certain communities around Hawaii
Island. But I think it would be helpful, because you talk a lot about different
jurisdictions, different offices. Just depending on where you are and what you
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
want to do, it triggers different permits. And so to just get clarity and help them.
Some kind of tool to help assess what's necessary I think would be really helpful.
I'll put in a communication and coordinate with your office. Thank you, Chair, I
yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Anyone else?
Alright,thank you, Director Adams for being here today and answering all of our
questions. I definitely appreciate the acknowledgements that there were some
failures with respect to Love Island and the need for some lessons learned.
Particularly the lesson around communication. And I appreciate that you've, you
know, as I would expect you to,to diagnose the problem thoroughly and come up
with a set of priorities and responses.
The one thing that I want to ensure is, part of that is that even though we as
Council Members have no regulatory authority around this, we are the first line of
communication with the public. And so for example, I learned about Love Island,
which took place in my district, by the newspaper. And then I was quickly
bombarded with phone calls and no information about the production.
So I would ask you if you would include in future endeavors just a note for your
office and whoever is appropriate, to communicate with the Council Member in
the affected districts so that they are aware that the production is happening.
I would also ask that if there are plans for special permitting, that the Planning
Department make sure to have documentation of the condition of the site prior to
any development or usage by the film production company. The reason being,
you know, we had a couple of roads that were affected by the Love Island
production, and I drove by the other day and it looked like one of them has had
some repair work done which is fantastic. I don't know who made that happen,
but that's great. The other one, I'm not sure about, and part of the problem was
that Planning Department didn't really have a good sense of what it looked like
prior to the production. So just want to ensure that that's part of the protocol.
And finally I had a question about the permitting requirements and the fact that if
it's on private property, there are no permitting requirements. My question about
that has to do with zoning and permitted uses within the Zoning Code for different
zoning types. And I don't see, at least as far as Residential and Agriculture
filming as a permitted use. It seems like a Commercial Use if they're getting
some sort of benefit for renting their property. Is there some HRS (Hawai`i
Revised Statues) or something that supersedes our Zoning Code and permitted
uses for the film industry?
MR. ADAMS: So, if you gained from my comments that—and this potentially
occurred when I was answering Chair David's questions. If you gained from my
comments that if it's being held on private property, that there's nothing that the
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County can do, I apologize for that. That's clearly not the case. The permitting
uses are case-by-case basis. And if there are, depending on where events are
going to occur, certainly, the idea of permitted uses is an important piece. So that
is consideration and when we are aware of those; when we're aware that filming
or production is going to be held on a private property, that is one of the questions
that guests asks involving the use.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director Adams. And as a closing statement, you
know, when I learned about the Love Island production in Hamakua, the main
thing that I was initially concerned about was, we have so much there's so many
social media posts happening in the district. I'm sure it's happening in all of our
districts now.
When I saw Love Island, I said, oh now they're going to take pictures of people
jumping off of waterfalls, or doing things that are dangerous and maybe represent
to the broader public, things that we don't want our visitors to come and do. So I
do appreciate, the pono pledge has been put up on the website for the film within
R and D. And encourage a more—rather a less passive approach to it and maybe
a requirement that this is something that production companies acknowledge
when they come in, that they understand the sensitivity of our environment and
are not going to promote any activities that might put future visitors at risk.
Thank you again, Director Adams, for your time here and with that I will go
ahead and take the vote on the motion on the floor. All of those in favor?
Vote on Motion The motion to close file on Comm. 420 was carried by
to Close File: the following voice vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
CHR. KIMBALL: And if we can move on to Order of Resolutions, please.
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ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order
RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions.
Res. 223-21: URGES THE HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE TO AMEND COFFEE
LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR BLENDS OF GEOGRAPHICALLY
NAMED HAWAII-GROWN COFFEE
Seeks amendments to State law to increase the minimum amount of Hawai`i-
grown coffee from 10 to 51 percent and to identify the geographic origin and
corresponding percentage of coffee grown outside of Hawaii in blended coffees
labeled as Hawai i-grown.
Reference: Comm. 421
Intr. by: Mr. Inaba
Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend adoption of Res. 223-21.
Seconded by Mr. Richards,
CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Inaba, please take over.
MR. INABA: Thank you, Chair Kimball. So I was contacted by some of our
local farmers here in the Kona community. And you know, this is a topic that has
gone back years and years. This Council had previously passed Resolution 18-06
and Resolution 501-14, both I believe, which were introduced by Council
Member Ford. And in the last Resolution 501-14, Council Member Ford did
provide kind of a good comprehensive overview of all of the attempts that kind of
echo what's in the resolution before us today.
As we know, Kona Coffee, Ka`u Coffee, Hamakua Coffee are all known
throughout the world for their superior quality. Coffee as we know, especially in
Kona, has been grown for over 200 years. It's the 50'h annual celebration right
now of the Kona Coffee Festival. A festival that's really spoken to the way that
coffee not only affects us today but has really affected the culture of this place we
call home.
So, as you know, in a very straight forward simple manner, this resolution before
you reaffirms this Council's stance that we do support and want to protect the
industry, especially for Kona coffee farmers. And it proposes, and we are
recommending then to the Legislature if this resolution passes that the minimum
amount of Hawaii grown coffee in coffee blends would be amended to
51 percent rather than the current 10 percent. And hoping then that our friends at
the State Legislature, especially those here from Hawaii Island, can then take
some of the information from this resolution and make the amendments necessary
to support our farmers at the State level.
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
So asking for my colleagues' support in this measure. And as you heard from
some of our farmers earlier, they're asking also for support in this manner. Thank
you.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Council Member
Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: Aloha. First off, I just want to thank Council Member Inaba
for taking the initiative and putting this resolution together. Having had multiple
conversations with Mr. Corker and other members of the Kona Coffee
Community and worked in the last term to get a broader understanding of what
the issues are, why they continue, and what some of the blockades are to what in
my mind are obviously necessary changes. Some of it is systemic, some of it
goes to lobbying at the State Legislature by the large corporations that make a lot
of money off of the name, Kona.
I really appreciate my colleague's comments in already taking consideration and
acknowledging how that hurts this brand and how unprecedented it is. I also
would point out that the practices of bringing in external green coffee then is
roasted here and combined with our coffee, is one of the reasons we have the
Coffee Berry Borer. So just through this whole process in general not only are we
undervaluing this unique and incredible product that is only grown here on the
slopes of Kona, Kona Coffee, we have also jeopardized the coffee industry as a
whole, not just on this island, but as a State. And to that I question, who's making
the money? What companies are perpetuating this? And how do we through a
resolution like this encourage those at the State level to connect with our coffee
farmers?
One of our Council Members here is an avid coffee farmer and knows the labor of
love that it takes to get those beans from cherry to your cup. And I think we're
doing a disservice to an agricultural industry that we in government continue to
claim we want to be transitioning to regenerative. And this is one of those ways.
The money for Kona coffee should be going to the farmer and those perpetuating
authentically Kona Coffee.
And so I'm just really grateful for Mr. Inaba's initiative and putting this together
such a succinct resolution and hope that the voices, our voices, will be heard on
the Legislative side and that this will be the year for some action and change.
And with that I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Chair David.
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Kimball. Yes, mahalo nui to Council Member
Inaba. Going hindsight, when I look at legislation like this, what we have to
actually plead that we need 51 percent of Kona coffee in any blend to use the
name, I just think personally, if it's not 100 percent Kona then it's not Kona,
right? I mean that's my personal opinion because growing up doing Coffee with
my family for three generations, you know what,we used to do everything
ourselves. Because that's the only way that we could afford to support our own
families off of coffee.
And then to watch it turn into this industry where you have so many different
variations of Kona coffee, to me it's false advertising. It's Kona, or it's not. And
so, I'm going to support this, Mr. Inaba, but really, I'm just very unhappy how
this industry took a turn just for making more money.
And actually our coffee farmers are family farmers, are old-time family Japanese,
Filipinos. And local families do not do coffee now because number one, they
have to sell it to a producer and be reliant on what they give them. It doesn't
work out. The labor intensity, the chemicals that you need to even get a good
grade of coffee. And it's dependent on whether someone thinks your coffee is
graded to 100 percent. Or know the disease, you're going to get like 60 percent.
So you have a reduced—for all your work you get a reduced amount of money,
but they don't give you your coffee back. They put it in the bin. They grind it
and sell it all, but you take a loss. So there are no local family farmers left, to me,
that can survive on coffee.
So it's become for local families just a thing of the past that you love coffee so
much that you just do it as because you're so used to it and you love it. But it's
no way enough to support you or your family. And that's my position because
that's what I've experienced. So to me if it's not 100 percent, it's not Kona. So
thank you, Mr. Inaba. I will support this resolution and hopefully in my lifetime,
we can get back to some truth in advertising. Alright, I yield. Thank you,
Ms. Kimball.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair David. Council Member Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Thank you. Yeah, you know,this is really as Mr. Inaba said, not
a new idea. But I have to really congratulate and thank him for bringing it up
again. Because this is vitally important, in my opinion. You know, I'm not in a
coffee growing district or anything, but I've always taken offense to people or
outside entities exploiting Hawaii names or ideas. And this is not just a name of
idea. This is a commodity, right?
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
And you know, there was a speaker, Bruce Corker. Those were my thoughts
exactly. You know, when you talk about wine or champagne, you know, he
didn't even mention chianti from Italy. They do the same thing too, right? Napa?
Why can't we do for Kona Coffee?
And I really want to congratulate you too, and thank you for the way you wrote
your resolution. It's a well-written resolution. And I'll tell you why. It's
concise, not that many recitals. Because after a while, it gets dizzying. So about
seven recitals, but you really set forth what the problem is. You gave a historical
perspective, where we're at, and what the bottleneck was. Yeah, I like that. It
might be a little bit more complicated than that, but I like that. So thank you.
You know, I support this 100 percent.
It makes sense and also not just from the producers' perspective. As a consumer I
want to know what's in that bag too. You know, a lot of times I give omiyage,
right,to people in Japan. You know, sometimes I get Kona Coffee or Ka`u
Coffee. The only thing I really got to go on right now is price. I figure if it's
expensive it must be good, right? That's kind of a bad way of doing things, but
I'd like to know what's in there. And I think all consumers should demand to
know what's in there.
So what I like about this thing too, if it's anything under the 51 percent,they have
to let people know where it's from too. So that's really good. One hundred
percent, you have my support on this. Thanks, Holeka.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Council Member
Richards.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. And Holeka, it's all about agriculture, and
I completely agree with you. Kind of springboarding after what Mr. Chung said,
you know, you want to know where it comes from. And this Council knows
when it comes to agriculture, I really pay attention to what's going on and what I
refer to say economy of agriculture. How we roll and support families with it.
Farming should not be a hobby, because it's a profession that we all need. And
Chair David pointed out, you cannot make it work the way it is going. Looking
back on agriculture as a whole, relatively new statistics, there was a time when
about one-third of the value of a retail commodity went back to the farmer or
rancher. And now it's down to like 15 percent, or something like that. So the
buying power that we generate out of agriculture has dropped. Yet we rely
heavily. And Mr. Inaba, this is a step in the right direction, to reaffirm that.
I'm kind of on the same page as Chair David as far as a number. But we take
steps at a time. And I think that's appropriate. And I too, like how you've
characterized this. You know, especially right now there's been kind of a
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
renaissance, reawakening, of the Kona coffee. Coffee from the islands as a
whole. So it's a step in the right direction and I fully support it. So thank you for
bringing it forward. Chair, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Richards. Anyone in Kona? Or
Hilo, sorry. No, okay. Did you have one more follow-up? Go ahead, Council
Member Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. I just wanted to circle back, and mahalo for your
support you folks. Going back to what Auntie Maile said, and what Council
Member Richards just said, I do support that same idea of preserving. You know
if it's not 100 percent, it's not Kona. We have historically not even been able to
get what's before us pass through the Legislature. So it's sad that we have to
make these incremental steps in the right direction. But unfortunately—well I'm
young so hopefully I'll be around to—we'll see that maybe one day.
And I wanted to acknowledge Wendy Baez, my Legislative Assistant. You know,
as you folks know, she predates me in this office being a part of Council Member
Eoff's term. And she was instrumental in getting this resolution complete. And
also want to mahalo the farmers that reached out to prompt this resolution being
brought before us today. So mahalo Wendy, and thank you, Chair.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. And thank you for
putting together a really nice resolution, well-written as Council Member Chung
mentioned. And fully support the intention behind it. In fact, I've written
testimony in support of the State bills in the past. And it is mindboggling that it
hasn't made it through. In fact, I think we need to see this expanded towards
other Hawaii products like cacao for example.
Our name is important, and there's a plethora of evidence out there about the
value of localized products, especially when you get down to even smaller scale.
I'll just give a shout out to Papa`aloa Coffee which is one of my favorite
Hamakua brands. And you know, being able to label at the geographically small
scale is important. So happy to support this resolution. We'll go ahead and take
the vote on the motion on the floor. All of us in favor?
Vote on Res. 223-21: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 223-21 was
(Approved) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy,
Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball–9.
Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Excused: None.
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Clerk, next order of business, please.
Res. 241-21: URGES THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE COUNTY'S INCLUSIONARY ZONING
POLICIES, PURSUANT TO SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 3, AND TO
DEVELOP A STRATEGIC ROADMAP FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
ON HAWAII ISLAND
Requests the development of the zoning policy report and strategic plan to facilitate
housing program adjustments and potential amendments to County housing law.
Reference: Comm. 441
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz and Ms. Lee Loy
Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of
Res. 241-21. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy.
CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kierkiewicz, please?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Chair, before I begin,just want to make sure
that we have Housing Administrator Susan Kunz on Zoom. There she is. Mahalo
nui, Susan, great to see you. I'll get down to it. I mean there's no need to really
question the fact that we need to be increasing our Housing options and inventory
on the island.
And unfortunately, we've seen on our time here on the Council that as members
of the community that so many Housing projects just can't get over the finish line
for a number of reasons. Because of regulations, barriers to the development.
And so this resolution is really designed to support OHCD (Office of Housing and
Community Development) in their efforts in two ways. Review Inclusionary
Zoning policies and their impact on housing, and deliver a strategic roadmap for
housing development for Hawaii Island.
As we all know, we've read the resolution. We know Inclusionary Zoning, it's
meant to increase housing growth, but it may have had some unintended
consequences. And I urge all of you to check out a report that was generated by
UHERO (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization) that evaluates
and provides a prognosis around what Inclusionary Zoning has done to the Oahu
market.
These policies mandate developers to build a certain percentage of affordable. So
they're linking the construction of affordable housing with market-priced housing.
And you would think that by requiring this, we have more housing. But studies
have shown that this has actually led to less units being built. And when there's
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
higher demand for housing, less supply available. This obviously increases the
cost of housing across the board.
We are taking a look at Senate Resolution 3, which is one of the Legislative
triggers for review of Inclusionary Zoning policies here in Hawaii County. And
just looking to understand the repercussions of this particular zoning policy in
terms of housing prices, construction, development. We've heard this term before
this saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over." If a policy is not
working it's our charge as a legislative body to develop policy accordingly.
So Susan, looking for your office to take a look at this and understand. Has it
been effective? What have been the implications? We've seen a lot of projects
sitting idle, coming in for time-extensions again. Getting caught up in that
beaurocracy and the permitting and approval process.
And I think that we've all heard each other say in one different arena or another
we need more housing. We really need a pathway. And so, looking to have
everybody involved in housing development play their parts. But I think before
we get there, everybody acting in this situation needs to know what their role is
and when they're acting.
This is going to require a lot of coordination, strategic alignment of partners,
policy, finance, which leads me to the second reason for this resolution:
Architecting a strategic roadmap. We've got lots of plans and studies upon
studies that dissect this issue and offer up a plethora of different solutions and
funding streams.
I don't think anybody has really taken the time to sift through all of this
information and identify what's needed for our island. What do we need to get
done first in order to catalyze more action? So things, hoping Susan that this
roadmap could take a look at. Certainly not limited to this, but again, wanting to
see what makes more sense for Hawaii Island.
Is it worth to look at on the State level, increasing the Land Use Boundary
amendment from 15 to 25 acres. Let's do an analysis of 201H. Is this working
for our County? What sort of shifts do we need to make in the process. Where
can the County more appropriately be putting in strategic infrastructure
investments? Do we need zoning reform? What sort of updates to Chapter 11 are
appropriate.
Let's look at a Housing Inland Trust, and let's take a look at funding and finance
products like a revolving fund. And let us know, right, Susan. What's getting in
the way? What are we going to do to remove barriers? What's needed to increase
options? Not just for low-income families, but the ALICE (Asset Limited,
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Income Constrained, Employed) `ohana, the middle-class that are struggling to
get by. Those that are living on the edge.
And at the end, we hope to see a roadmap, something that's fair for developers
that really encourages this sort of environment of building. And something that is
practical for our County to implement. And at the end of the day, we just want to
see more housing options for our residents because they need and deserve it.
Thank you, Chair, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member
Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz, for that
wonderful introduction to this resolution. And I had actually reached out to the
Housing Agency. I had actually joined the cohort with Stanley Chang, who's the
author or Senate Resolution 3, and just began to work the mechanics of
developing housing. And so,through that process, I was able to be in touch with
a lot of resources that Senator Chang has as far as developing some of the tools
that we need, as Ms. Kierkiewicz talked about,that roadmap and all of the
research that's out there. And just some of the critical path things that needed to
happen first.
And some of the conversations that are happening, not only here in Hawaii, but
across the U.S. around housing was getting everyone's arms around housing,
which started with zoning and infrastructure costs, which was driving up the cost
of housing. And so through my research and reaching out to Susan Kunz over at
Housing. Yeah, the idea of Zoning Atlas and what types of products we could
develop through there.
Even asking the questions about unit affordability and its cost over time along
with a housing affordability calculator. These were all just tools that are available
and have been researched. And I just thought, you know, these are the types of
things—and I'll describe like a Crayon box. These are the types of Crayons that
we need in our Crayon box. But we didn't have a way to tell that story of all of
tools and research that was available. And so reaching out to Housing, I said,
"Hey Susan, how do we do this?"
And so, as Ms. Kierkiewicz mentioned, you know, looking for this roadmap, I
think we've already begun to explore some ideas, which I think, Ms. Kunz, if you
could begin to elaborate on and how this resolution actually helps us move
forward in a very smart and systematic way. But I'm going to be asking for my
Members' support on this. I think it's a smart way. Everybody knows I'm a big
proponent of good information helps us make good decisions. And so I think this
is another tool that we could use to help make real good decisions in a systematic
but expedited way. Chair, I yield.
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CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Go ahead, Council
Member Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Thank you. You know, I think the Senate Resolution No. 3 was a
well-intentioned measure. I don't think it was accompanied by any additional
funding to the counties, right? And that would have been nice, but we'll leave
that for another day. But I think it's necessary for us to study this concept of
Inclusionary Zoning.
You know, I was told long time ago—and I'm going to get back to this or
course but over 25 years ago I was told by a high-ranking member of the
Administration as it related to roads, "The County doesn't build roads, developers
build roads." I thought that was crazy. If there's a need, we have to address it.
We don't wait for other people to address it for us. The same holds true for
housing.
I don't need a study to tell me that the current arrangement that we have will not
work. And the reason for that is it all depends on the whims of the County in
approving various developments. And that's what's going to determine whether
we have or do not have adequate inventory of affordable houses. It just will not
work.
And I'm glad that we're taking this thing up, but it's going to get me to another
point. You know, I've long been an advocate of either getting rid of term limits
for Council Members, or at least, beefing it up to 12 years. And the reason for
that is, you generally see housing go in cycles. And those cycles are not eight
years, they exceed that. So you need people who are able to look at these things
and recognize what happened in the past.
Now, a long time ago, probably in the 1980's, the Housing Office really took an
aggressive stance at trying to develop, but I think it was a little bit too aggressive.
And then, we took a different stance. There has to be a balance here. But we lose
a lot of, you know, experience when we have these term limits. But it seemed
like a real popular thing.
And I introduced legislation, Charter amendments, for increased term limits. It
wouldn't have affected me, or Maile, or Karen, or Val. It was for, you know,
other people going forward, but that didn't pass. You voted against them. But
you know, I just think it's important for us to have this kind of long-range kind of
thinking on the part of the Council, at least. I know I'm going, you know, far
afield, but that's my thoughts on this matter. Thank you.
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CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Alright, I'm going to
pass it over to Administrator Kunz, and I believe we have Director Kern on Zoom
as well. But let me give Administrator Kunz a chance to reply.
(Note: At this time, Housing Administrator Susan Kunz came forward to
address the members of the Committee.)
MS. KUNZ: Thank you so much. My name is Susan Kunz, I'm the Housing
Administrator for the Office of Housing and Community Development. Thank
you so much for the opportunity to comment on this Resolution 241-21. First, I'd
like to let the Council know that the Office of Housing has already taken steps to
procure a consultant to work with us in assessing and looking at Chapter 11.
We have four consultants that we are currently looking at. We've already put a
selection committee together. The selection committee is made up of private and
public individuals, and we do have representation from the east and the west side.
So I'm feeling pretty good about the selection committee.
So we will move forward with this process. First of all, let me say that the Office
of Housing does definitely support this resolution. I think it's important that as
we are trying to navigate the challenges in the lack of affordable housing, one of
the key pieces is really looking at the regulations that drive us. The policies that
are currently in place. We want to ensure that we're really incentivizing the
production and the development of housing the way that we wanted to.
I think that it is really important to engage those with expertise in this field. You
know, not only looking into Chapter 11, but you know, really looking at other
policies, what's working, what's not working, statewide and even nationally
because you know, the lack of affordable housing is a national issue as well.
It's my hope that if there are policies and best practices that are working, that we
are able to understand them, bring them home, incorporate them and localize them
and making sure that those policies fit for us in this local area and that they are
producing limits the way we want them to.
I really want to thank Council Member Holeka Inaba and Council Member
Heather Kimball as well. You know,they've really been engaging with the
Office of Housing in the last couple of months. We've had several meetings
pretty much digging into Chapter 11 and making sure that we have a kind of
united understanding about what exists. And also playing out maybe some areas
that aren't quite working and we're questioning them. So I want to let you know
that I appreciate the conversations, and I definitely want to use the information
that we kind of gathered over the last few months, and take this forward with our
consultant to continue looking into these areas.
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And I also want to let you know that I think a very important part of this process
is going to be our going out into the community and making sure that we get
community input from our stakeholders. Whether it be our developers who we're
going to count on to do the productions, our funders, nonprofits, and you know,
members of our community.
I think it's really important to know, maybe not so much what the need is,
because I think we're all pretty clear about what the need is. I think it's important
to understand why. What's holding us back? And then we can develop a policy
around supporting what we need to support.
You know, I agree with and thank very much Council Members Kierkiewicz and
Lee Loy for doing this resolution. I think it sets a really nice pathway for us
moving forward. I think that it is important to articulate what this strategic
roadmap is going to look like. It's looking into Chapter 11 as definitely a part of
that roadmap, but it's definitely not the only initiative that we need to be
considering. It's an aggressive timeline. I agree with that. But I think it's
important to set these timelines so that we can make sure that we're moving
forward, right, and we're having measurable outcomes in a timely way. I think
that's important. So thank you all very much.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Administrator. Did we have Director Kern on the
line?
(Note: At this time, Planning Director Zendo Kern came forward to
address the members of the Committee.)
MR. KERN: Madam Chair.
CHR. KIMBALL: Do you have anything you wanted to add to the conversation?
MR. KERN: I was mainly here just in case things came up. But sure,
Zendo Kern, Planning Director. I think this is a critical conversation to be having.
Support the resolution. I think we're looking at, you know, affordable housing.
It's all about housing issues on the Big Island, you know, in total. And this
conversation is part of that looking to other areas as far as, you know, design,
cost, green infrastructure. How do we get these to be cost-effective while also
hopefully, rising our, you know, economics on the Big Island so we can actually
have people making decent amount of money so we can get revenues up, our
income up, housing down. And somehow find that balance in the middle.
So I'm really looking forward to seeing how this report comes out. I know that
we're all tired of reports that don't go anywhere. I do feel that in this case and
this report, and this Administration, that we're going to be utilizing these to
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actually take action steps and move forward and to solve for these things. So
while there's some stigma around that, I do think this is important.
I do wish the State would have provided some resources for that so we can
support the gap that we have. But in that case, from the Planning side, this is
where, you know, Housing and Planning really come together. And so, we're
looking forward to helping in any way we can and being a part of the
conversation and really support Susan and her team through the process in any
way that we can.
I don't have a lot more to add. We can talk about affordable housing for days.
But in this case, I think it's really about supporting this reso and moving forward,
and how can we make this better for our island or our community?
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director Kern. Anyone here, anyone else?
Council Member Villegas.
MS. VILLEGAS: First off, I want to thank Council Members Inaba and
Kimball, because it's my understanding that you guys did a lot of deep dives
into Chapter 11 and identifying the weaknesses in that current policy, and the
ambiguity when it comes to required affordable housing under our current
development requirements. It's kind of this amorphous indistinguishable, all too
flexible opportunity for developers to not end up building the affordable housing.
I know that I have a project in my district that their contribution for affordable
housing was to gift a piece of land to the County to build affordable housing on,
and we all know that the County doesn't really have money for affordable
housing. And this piece of land is in flood zone. So we were given crap
essentially, and told build housing on that. So I agree with the intention of the
discontinuation of these kind of practices, which I believe inauthentically claim to
be aiming for solutions to our affordable housing crisis.
I guess I'm a little concernedI'm very concerned, about why we need another
study. We have, you know, capable, qualified planning experts. We have those
with extensive histories working in the housing market, both on the private sector
and in the public sector. We have Council Members who are dedicated to going
through this with a fine-tooth comb. So to me when we look at, you know, what's
the spend going to be, what's the timeframe going to be, and how much further
out does that put us, I have some concerns about that. And I question the wisdom
of doing another study and another report.
I also, you know, having a lot of conversations with different members of our
community and those that work sometimes in real estate, or those that work in
construction, I was on a call last night. Someone was asking me about our current
challenges with the permitting process and admittedly questioning the burn the
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ships on the shore capacity and where that puts us,because if you don't win the
war, you've got no exit plan.
And as we look at our housing prices going through the roof and people leaving,
you know, our young people. My kids' ages, because they can't afford homes
here, I think it also behooves us to take a look at why and who's coming. There
are a lot of homes on the west side of the Big Island. And condominiums and
time shares and whatnot, that are empty. And so, in a broader perspective looking
at the socioeconomic and demographic longevity of our kama`aina.
So I just kind of want to put up a little red flag. I don't want to be a block to a
process that would provide authentically for affordable housing, but I want to
make sure that there's an understood requirement that it be such. Because another
study to do another study to justify somebody's new decision-making protocols, I
think we have opportunity within our own means within the County to identify
the improvements that could be made to more authentically provide and require
developers.
I also would ask for a list of whoever's being included in the committee on
deciding on who this consultant would be. I have some concerns, and I want to
make sure that the parties and the players involved in that decision process are
diverse and objective. And that we don't accidentally then expose ourselves to
more challenges and more questions about intentions and values and the urge to
make money versus build shelters. So, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Council Member
Richards.
MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Interesting conversation. I would keep
talking about the need for affordable housing and have to keep coming up with
new ways to try and get it done.
I appreciate what both Housing Director and Planning Director have made
comments on. I'm intrigued about something that Mr. Chung had stated.
Watching at the national level, what it takes to get big things moved. You know
10 years is not a long time, relative to what it takes. And I was discussing with a
guy about a coral policy that they think they're going to get it through after
20 years. So I think Mr. Chung has a point about needing someone to champion
an effort through, but then running out of time because of the term limits. But
that's a conversation for a later time.
To the point here, working with developers that truly wanted to build affordable
housing, but they keep stumbling because there's one more process, one more
procedure, one more thing that needs to get done. And I think anything that we
can do to support that going forwardI agree with what the Planning Director
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say's about it's not just about housing, it's about economic development. It's
raising the whole tide so we can make a better community.
And something here in this resolution talked about the NIMBY's (Not In My
Backyard). You know, I have to admit, I actually had a constituent once say that
she was a NIMBY. And the problem is if we're not going to go forward this
Council has heard me say it before, we need housing. All forms of housing.
Affordable is critical.
I worry that with the shift of our demographics here that our adjusted median
income is increasing, which may pose even more of a problem going forward. I
don't know how to address that, but I want to throw it on the table for the
discussion. It's a median income, it's not an average income. And that concerns
me. I've raised this with the Housing Director.
Whatever we can do to move the needle forward to get some of this housing built.
I have a developer now just chomping at the bit wanting to build affordable
housing, but can't because of stumbling blocks that we need to move out of the
way. So I'm definitely going to be supporting this. We need housing. We don't
need to discuss whether or not we need it. Like Planning Director said, we need
it. What we need to do is help get things out of the way so we can get this done.
I'm definitely going to be supporting this. Any step at it, and I think when it
comes to housing, as we are set up in this Council, we as a Council must keep
championing this regardless of who's in office, because we need the housing and
we need the housing going forward. This community has tripled in population
since I was born here. And we need to build that housing. So fully support it. I
think, you know, all full speed ahead, let's get this thing done so we can actually
build some housing in our lifetimes. Right, Chair David? So let's get this done.
Thanks Chair, I yield.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Ms. Kimball?
CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder:
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. I've always listened with
great interest to the housing discussion. And there's always this scream for more
affordable housing. But it also crossed my mind that we have a huge number of
vacation rentals just because of the way that Hawaii lays out as being a
destination. I know it's Planning, but I mean, Director, do you have a number of
the amount of vacation rentals on the island?
MR. KERN: Yes I do. So these are the ones more particularly outside of the
resort node. Are you interested in the ones within the resort communities?
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MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: No I think you're on the right track by
staying away from the very high-end resort node, because that's not affordable,
but when I look at East Hawaii, I always think, you know, how many vacation
rentals do we have? How much housing stock do we lose to the vacation rental
market? And what is that doing to our affordable housing?
MR. KERN: So in East Hawaii, which would be, you know, Hamakua, Hilo,
Puna, Ka`u, we have around 400 short-term vacation rentals, NUC's. So those
would be the Nonconforming Use Certificates. They got grandfathered in. We
have a much smaller amount that actually fit that criteria of a resort node of the
proper zoning. So it's not a huge number when you spread out to that
geographical area.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: What if we include the resort nodes?
MR. KERN: In Hilo, I don't have that data available to sparse that out, but I
know for the entirety of the permitted areas within the resort nodes, we're around
4,000 or so. So that would be, you know, Mauna Lani, Waikoloa, some of the
areas around Keaukaha. Some zoning in Hilo that would allow for it. And then
through, you know, Alii Drive. Kind of variously spread out.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, not a huge stock, but there is some
stock being lost to vacation rentals and rentals as a whole?
MR. KERN: There is some. When you look at it at the overall housing need, it's
actually quite a small percentage. To me, you really have to break out on the
nonconforming use ones, you know what I mean, because the ones that are say in
Waikoloa Beach Resort, is that really part of the conversation? Not necessarily. I
don't think for this, for the affordable side of it. So yeah, we're looking at a
decent number, but not—when you look at the percentage of the 13,000 that were
needed, it's a very small percentage.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Thank you for that, Director. That
was just kind of nagging me for a long time. Appreciate it. Chair, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Council Member Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. Yes, I just wanted to voice my support for this
resolution. And I think as we move forward as Council Member Chung
mentioned, it's important that we take action on things that we know aren't
working at such time when we can get a more comprehensive view, based on the
study. And hopefully that study also utilizes studies done by the other counties,
their Housing offices, to guide us so we're not completely reinventing the wheel.
But you know, using them as a guide, I think it would be great. So mahalo for
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putting this resolution forward and look forward to getting you folks something
soon as well. Thank you, Administrator Kunz.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. I'll bring it back to
Council Member Chung.
MR. CHUNG: Thank you. You know, I just wanted to briefly expand on that
longevity matter. You know, affordable housing, whether you guys agree or not,
is not always a big issue. It comes and goes. And right now, it's a big issue
because of the escalating costs in houses. What we should be doing is stockpiling
land when the prices are low.
And look what we have at our, you know, availability. We have Planning
Director, who issues permits; we have the Corporation Counsel's Office, who can
actually do the paperwork and applications for different developments; we have
everything at our disposal. We can do it. And when the market starts picking up,
we're primed, we're ready already to provide for those homes for people who
need them. But we're always reacting to bad situations. And that's, you know,
it's very costly for us. But leave that for another day.
I just wanted to ask this of Susan. Three questions. First, do you think this is an
important thing that we should be doing, this resolution? This study? Second, are
you prepared to do it? And third, do you want to do it?
MS. KUNZ: Absolutely, yes, to all questions.
MR. CHUNG: Okay, that's all. Because if you had answered "no" on any of
them, I would indifference to you, voted"no." But if you believe it's important
and I believe it's important, actually, but if you're ready to devote your resources
to pursuing this study, I'm all for it. Okay, thank you.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Chung. Anyone in Hilo?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Chair, if I might?
CHR. KIMBALL: Go ahead, Council Member Kierkiewicz.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. And again, I wanted to just thank
Administrator Kunz; and mahalo nui, Director Kern for being here. We weren't
expecting you, but I think this just goes to illustrate how closely coordinated the
Office of Housing is with Planning and the other key departments, such as Water,
Environmental Management, Public Works. And so, really appreciate the
synergy and collaboration among departments.
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I do want to clarify something, though. There have been assertions made about
there being another study done. And so, Administrator Kunz, help me out here.
Yes, there is a study to evaluate what needs to be done to update Chapter 11, but
what we're talking about in addition to that is creating an action roadmap.
Like I mentioned earlier, numerous studies out there that are put out by SMS
(SMS Research Hawaii) delivered to the State on an annual basis. That really
identifies what our challenges are, but what also are the solutions. And again, the
strategic roadmap is so that your office in coordination with the other departments
can start looking at what is meaningful action we can take based on the
recommendations in the study. So just want to be really clear about what the
deliverables are. Because we're not looking at another study, we're looking at
once we have this roadmap, it's just about everybody knowing when to pull the
trigger.
MS. KUNZ: That is correct. I'm very clear about that.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay. I just wanted to make sure it was clear to my
colleagues as well as anybody tuning in, what the deliverables are. And I know
the timelines are aggressive, but as you mentioned earlier, groundwork has been
done and it's just a matter of getting these things over the finish line.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. I will pass it to
Council Member Lee Loy. Another quick comment?
MS. LEE LOY: Yeah,just briefly, and thank you for clarifying it's an action
roadmap. I know some members of the Council may be familiar with what they
did on Maui. And Maui's idea of delivering 5,000 homes in five years, it was a
roadmap with actionable items that included policy shifts.
But, Director Kunz, my question for you is, you heard Mr. Chung today talking
about longevity. And I'm not sure as to what the deliverables will be for this
strategic roadmap. But do you think that we could also include some thought
around aligning that longevity piece, and maybe even aligning our State and
Congressional delegations at the funding mechanisms and how that tranches of
money come down so that they can be executed and deliver the type of housing
that we so desperately need. Has a consideration been given to that strategic
roadmap?
MS. KUNZ: We've had a lot of discussions about what the strategic roadmap is
going to look like. I want to let you know that I've been engaging not only
locally, right, cabinet members, like Zendo, local nonprofits and developers, but
also statewide about this discussion. So, I do have a structure of a strategic
roadmap in mind. And of course, I think engaging with a consultant, I'm thinking
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maybe taking into consideration some other initiatives that perhaps we have not
considered. You know, regulatory issues needs to be looked at, which is what
we're doing here with Chapter 11. I think infrastructure challenges are definitely
a huge piece that we need to look at. When I talk about infrastructure, you know,
you automatically start thinking about resources in funding. So that's another
piece that definitely has to be looked at.
Now,the County administers quite a few pots of federal monies. And so I think
that we would be remiss if we didn't try to incorporate and streamline what we're
getting annually to do this type of work. But I think maybe we need to be looking
at other sources, new sources of funding. So to answer your question, yes, I think
definitely we need to look at that.
You know, I think we have to engage with our State Legislature as well. And we
have been actually on several things. But I'm hoping that might be a pathway as
well. Everybody sees that this issue is not just a local issue, it's a statewide issue.
So I'm hoping that we can get support that way.
These are all the kinds of conversations that I want to engage in. So today's
discussion is just the beginning for me. So I'm hoping to touch base with all of
you either as a group or individually, however we can do it to get ideas like this
and make sure we're not leaving any stone unturned.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. And I just want to springboard off of Aaron's
comment about longevity. I'm actually sitting here looking at regulatory
entitlements that I did 25 years ago. And Zendo is smiling because that's how
long some of these projects take to develop the infrastructure in housing.
And I never imagined that a regulatory permit for a change of zone application
that I worked on back in the late 80's or early 90's is now only going vertical.
And if that's not an indicator of how clunky this process is, I don't know what
would be. So if we could really come up with that roadmap and really shorten
25 years into maybe a five or 12-year window, I think that would be huge gains
for our community. Thank you, Chair, I yield.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Okay, I'm going to
wrap discussion on this just by saying, thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz
and Council Member Lee Loy, for putting this resolution forward. And a couple
quick questions for you. Council Member Kierkiewicz, you referred to a UHERO
study. I just wanted to confirm, are you referring to the UHERO study referenced
in the resolution itself or their study specifically on Inclusionary Zoning from
2010?
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MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I don't believe we mentioned it in the resolution itself.
There was a study done by UHERO in 2010 looking at this particular issue.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. My second
question to either of you, the resolution that came from the State actually
identified six areas. Just wanted to ask you folks if there was a reason why you
chose these three in particular? Do they seem like the highest priority to you?
What was the rationale behind just doing a subset of the total list?
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, thanks for that, Chair. We coordinated with the
Office of Housing and worked with Administrator Kunz and her Deputy,
Mr. Yada to take a look at the actual resolution from the Senate to identify what
information they actually had access to and that they would be able to respond to.
And so these were the three areas in which they felt confident they had
information around and could generate a report from.
CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. So that leads to the
assumption that for the other three, we are currently lacking the datasets to be able
to respond to those.
MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That is correct. Opportunity for growth.
CHR. KIMBALL: Okay, thank you. I just wanted to say, I appreciate the
discussion around this today. A lot of good insight. It certainly is a complicated
matter. And you know, I think even from the standpoint of looking at what the
HUD (Housing and Urban Development) Housing Study had as the number that
we need. It's based on some assumptions that I think bear questioning as well.
As was mentioned, Council Member Inaba and I have been doing a deep dive into
Chapter 11. And you know, as somebody who formerly did research as a living, I
did do a deep dive into literature surrounding Inclusionary Zoning. And there
were three kinds of things that I have come up with. One is that Inclusionary
Zoning doesn't necessarily work in a vacuum. There's other factors that have to
be taken into account. Secondly, it's very location specific as to whether it works
or not. So we have to be cautious when we compare ourselves to other
jurisdictions to make sure that some of factors such as, you know, population
density, amount of available land and whatnot are comparable. You know,
thirdly, I would say that the Inclusionary Zoning policy needs to be clear and
concise. And this was mentioned, I think Council Member Richards mentioned
that there was a lack of clarity for folks that were actually interested in doing
affordable housing development. And so, clarity of the law is particularly
important.
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You know, it's not just about Inclusionary Zoning policy. Infrastructure was
mentioned. It was mentioned by one of the developers that was doing an
affordable housing unit that we need to make sure we are providing adequate
infrastructure for this development. The STVR(short-term vacation rentals)
question is certainly pertinent that takes potential affordable housing units out of
the market. We have to look at property tax structures and what we're
incentivizing, where we are encouraging potential speculation, and we have to
look at the economics of the day as well.
So in conclusion, I'll be supporting this resolution. What I just ask of my
colleagues at this time is that depending on, and when Council Member Inaba
and I are able to bring forth some of our recommendations, with regard to
Chapter 11 which were done very thoughtfully. Let me just say, Council
Member Inaba is a pleasure to work with. I hope that if this report is not ready
from Housing, that will not be a barrier for folks to discuss around some of the
proposed amendments that we have for Chapter 11.
With that I will go ahead and take the vote on the motion on the floor, which is to
forward Resolution 241-21 to the Council with a favorable recommendation. All
of those in favor?
Vote on Res. 241-21: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 241-21 was
(Approved) carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David,
Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
Villegas, and Chair Kimball—8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances.
(There were none.)
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GOREDC-16 October 19,2021
CHR. KIMBALL: With that I will take a motion to adjourn.
ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:43 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn the
MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David,
Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards,
Villegas, and Chair Kimball— 8.
Noes: None.
Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1.
Excused: None.
CHR. KIMBALL: And with that we are adjourned. Mahalo.
Approved:
4,01itt
.41.aoi,Z__,--
November 19, 2021
Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair (Date)
Government Operations, Relations,
and Economic Development Committee
HK/dt
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