HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0898.090 2020-2022 P/Council
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From: Debbie H
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2023 10:29 PM
To: Council Testimony; Kimball, Heather;Jennifer Kagiwada; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt;
Kierkiewicz,Ashley;Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Evans;Cynthia F.W.; Lee Loy, Sue; ,
Michelle Galimba COUNTY CLERK
Subject: Support for Bill 194- Please override the Veto and providTcl"vQs
extensions of rezonings and subdivisons RECEIVED
Time 71 u5 am. By MI
Date APR 0 F 2n23
Aloha members of the Hawaii County Council. PLEASE SUPPORT Bill 194 to OVERRIDE the
MAYOR'S VETO
I support the Hawaii County Council's override of the mayor's veto of Bill 194. AND HERE'S
WHY: This bill requires that the county council weigh in before subdivision or zoning extensions are
granted. Why is this important? Right now, the Planning Director can unilaterally sign an extension of
a rezoning or subdivision application without input from the community, surrounding property owners,
other Department Heads or any oversight by the Hawaii County Council. Remember, the Planning
Director is a political appointee of the mayor and owes his allegiance to the mayor. Although there are
educational, work, and administrative requirements for this position contained in the charter, they are
not followed. For example, the current Planning Director, Zendo Kern, said in his
bio https://sites.google.com/site/zendokerndistrict5/biociraphy: "I attended to Pahoa Elementary,
Intermediate and High School until the tenth grade. After the tenth grade, I enrolled in a home-school
program so I could work more, make money and not be a burden on my family." His appointment
was highly controversial because of potential conflicts of interest. His past experience included being
a developer's representative for zoning and building permits. He has appeared before both Planning
Commissions to lobby for clients and has many business alliances as a contractor. A case in point,
was reported in West Hawaii Today, March 25, 2021, when Director Kern said, "The tentative
subdivision approval letter for Jean Campbell's subdivision was inadvertently signed by me three
days into my new position — prior to having all conflict protocols in place. Our amazing staff later
caught the mistake, and a letter was issued last week, rescinding the subdivision's tentative
approval." Shouldn't he have known enough to recuse himself? He had not even been confirmed by
the council but he signed off on this. Is this an appointee that is qualified to make these unilateral
decisions?
An article in the April 2, 2023, edition of West Hawaii Today quoted Mayor Roth as saying "In
correspondence to the Council, Mayor Roth noted that the Bill would add expense, uncertainty, and
difficulty to the rezoning process, limiting the County's flexibility to condition rezoning ordinances
appropriately. Furthermore, the Bill would impede the County's ability to provide residents with
housing and facilities like hospitals, schools, and job centers,-ultimately punishing unsophisticated
applicants and adding unnecessary costs to the development process, ensuring we retain our
position as the most regulated County in the nation." The new process proposed by Bill 194 requires
only one more step, to come before the Hawaii County Council. Of course, the council would
approve valuable additions to the community like a much-needed hospital, new schools, and job
centers! If Hawaii County is truly the most regulated county in the country, there would be no
cesspools or septic tanks approved to pollute the ground water and ocean. Developers would be
required to extend sewer lines and provide sewage treatment plants. Grubbing and grading would be
more restricted so as to stop runoff and pollution of streams and the ocean. Developers would have
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to provide improvements (water, sewer, and roads) before any houses are sold. Plus, if we are so
"highly regulated" wouldn't the laws be enforced?
Credit goes to Council member Holeka Inaba who introduced Bill 194 to make sure that any
extensions of previously approved subdivision and zoning approvals be approved by the Hawaii
County Council. The Mayor vetoed it. Now, six council members must vote to override the mayor's
veto. No one knows how many homes would be built in the Kona area if all approved subdivisions
were built tomorrow. When I was a legislative aide for Council member Brenda Ford in 2006, we
were told that an additional 10,000 homes could be built in the Kona area. The number of
subdivisions has greatly increased over the last 17 years. I support Bill 194, because I believe that all
affected parties should be able to testify and provide input including the community, adjacent
property owners, elected officials and other department heads like Public Works, Water, Police etc.
Important factors need to be heard and reconsidered when extensions are requested, such as past
performance on the permit by the applicant, increased population density, resulting in increased traffic
and decreased services if the developers are not required to provide infrastructure like water and
sewers The proposed oversight by the county council is a safeguard to protect from
overdevelopment, which should be curtailed by water and sewer resources. Kona has suffered
growing pains over the last 20+ years with insufficient roads, water systems and sewers. Developers
should pay for these services, not local residents by increased property taxes. Extensions of zonings
and subdivision should not be a unilateral power of the Planning Director. We have lived with an
unbalanced government controlled by political appointees long enough. The county should consider
changing to a county manager system, where department heads are hired for their expertise and their
at-will employment is confirmed by the council. Please email the Hawaii County council at
counciltestimonya_hawaiicounty.gov and ask them to approve Bill 194 by a supermajority of 6 votes
to override the mayor's veto. Times change, and we need this extra step to safeguard our island
from over development. It's time that the people are heard.
Debbie Hecht
(808) 989-3222
Website: Thoughts and Theories: www.debbiehecht.com
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