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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PCHSW 2024/04/02 (2022-2024)Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being 11th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii April 2, 2024 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and ORDER: Well-being was called to order at 10:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Michelle Galimba, Acting Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Acting Chair Ms. Cindy Evans, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent & Excused: STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair Mr. Matt Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair The Acting Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Vanessa Houle: (representing BIBA-Big Island Beekeepers Association) Harry Holm: (representing BIBA-Big Island Beekeepers Association) Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. Kelly O'Day: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), comment. (representing U.S. Honey Bee, LLC) Alison Yahna: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), comment. Maria McCarthy: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 Stacey Chun: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. (representing Hawaii State Department of Agriculture) Erick Cremer: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. Susan Collins: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. Jim Klyman: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. Jennifer Bach: Bill 144 (Comm. 786), in support. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Mr. Clerk, could you read Bill 144 into record? BILLS FOR The Acting Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 144: AMENDS CHAPTER 14 AND CHAPTER 25 OF THE HAWAPI COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO APIARIES AND BEEKEEPING Establishes generally accepted apiary management practices and adds apiaries as permitted uses in seventeen zoning district classifications, including all Residential and Agricultural zoning districts, the Resort -Hotel district, all Commercial districts, all Industrial districts, the Open district, and the Downtown Hilo Commercial District, to promote beekeeping. Reference: Comm. 786 Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz Motion to Refer: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to refer Bill 144 to the Planning Director and Planning Commissions. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Ms. Kierkiewicz, go ahead. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Okay, we're finally here. I think this quest started before even I was in office. And I just want to acknowledge Vanessa Houle and Iris Carter, who couldn't be here, for reaching out to our office to find ways in which we can update the Code to really reflect the reality of what's happening on the ground; bring a lot of beekeepers in compliance. And then, work in partnership with, you know, State and local governments to make sure that whatever we do in our Code is something that everybody can really get behind. Page 2 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 Because we all know that bees are incredibly critical to not just agriculture productivity, but really, when you think about the balancing of natural resources in our local ecosystem, they play a very important role. So, this bill in a nutshell would basically allow for beekeeping to happen in every zoning district around Hawai'i Island. It makes sense because bees don't recognize Ag versus Residential versus Resort. It's all kind of Open Space for them to go and pollinate at. Then it also does something where we are establishing a set of best management practices to basically guide any interested beekeepers in terms of what a proper set up would be so that their apiary operations are safe, healthy, and thriving. There are a few things that I want to highlight that are pretty significant changes that we are making to the Code. And I do want to note that all of the work that has gone into Bill 144 has been in collaboration with local beekeepers from hobbyists, small businesses, even queen breeders. We've consulted with the Planning Department, Corporation Counsel, and then friends from the State Department of Agriculture; Apiary Division, and then Department of Health; Vector Control. So, we made sure to bring everybody sort of into the loop, and then later in the conversation. We also talked story with Research and Development because they do play a critical component in insuring that our beekeepers are going to have the support that they need to get education and awareness in terms of setting up a good apiary operation. So, in a nutshell, again, we are basically proposing that we permit siting of apiaries in all zoning districts. This will help to bring current operations like ones at schools and in residential neighborhoods into compliance. It would remove an arbitrary setback of apiaries being situated 1,000 feet back from a major roadway. We would remove that. And what we are proposing instead is for hives to be located at least 25 feet from a property line or 15 feet if there is a flyover barrier in place. Finally, we are setting up a set of best management practices that are nationally recognized, industry recognized. And in consultation with the Planning Department and Department of Agriculture, limiting the number of hives to 15 on lots that are, you know, smaller than 20,000 square feet. We recognize that there might be some folks that currently have more than that number of hives on smaller lots, and so, there would be a provision where they could request for an exemption from the Planning Director. Looking for everyone's support, and I've got my roomful of bee experts here in case folks want to drill down into the science of beekeeping. Thank you, Chair. I yield. Page 3 W486RUIVAB April 2, 2024 ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Thank you. I need someone to represent —I'm looking at the Definitions. So, I need someone to help me go through the process of Colony versus Hive versus Apiary. So, I need someone to come up, please. There're so many representatives, which one? Would you please restate your name, thank you. (Note: At this time, Kelly O'Day with U.S. Honey Bee, LLC, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. O'DAY: My name is Kelly O'Day with U.S. Honey Bee. And regarding definitions; a Colony would be the bees themselves; a Hive would be actual boxes that the bees are in, and Apiaries, basically would be the group of hives in a location. Point of Order: MS. LEE LOY: Point of order. Chair, absolutely. Really want to qualify this testifier as a subject matter expert in this area. So, if I could encourage my colleague to not only probe his name, but his education and background, so that these offerings of the definitions that he's providing can be cemented as a subject matter expert in this area. MS. EVANS: Oh, okay. So, just a brief summary of your experience. Thank you. MR. O'DAY: My experience would be being a beekeeper for approximately 25 years. I really don't have a specific education that would qualify me to give you these definitions. To be honest, the subject came up within the last year, and I had to learn these definitions, is why I'm aware of them at the moment. Basically, I bought several bee businesses. And in the legal descriptions of what I was buying, we had to define these things. So, the apiary is commonly understood as the location that houses multiple colonies; and the hive itself, to my knowledge, would be the boxes and the equipment that those bees live in; the wax and the comb and so forth. So, that would be the best way I can describe that to you. MS. EVANS: So, a colony could have 2 to 30 beehives in it? MR. O'DAY: No, a colony would have one queen, and it would have a varying number of bees based on the size of that colony. An apiary could have multiple numbers of colonies. I must add that the words, colony, and hive are generally used interchangeably. But when you really drill down to the exact meaning, that's where you get into the hives actually being defined as the boxes and basically the bees' house. Page 4 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Evans, if you don't mind, I'm going to call up Ms. McCarthy from Department of Agriculture as well to serve as subject matter expert. (Note: At this time, State Department of Agriculture Apiary Technician Maria McCarthy, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. MCCARTHY: Well, Kelly is definitely correct in his definitions of what he's saying. I'm to restate, with the Department of Agriculture, I'm the Apiary Technician for the program for the whole state. So, these definitions that we came up with are definitely ones that are used nationwide. As he was saying, a hive itself is going to be movable frames and boxes. So, the comb and everything that they can keep the bees living in. Then the colony when it's perfect is going to consist of a queen and then multiple workers. Usually, close to 10,000 workers in hives with drones, that are the male bees.as well. And then, they'll be honey, pollen, their brood that they're rearing out. Then the apiary, as he was also saying is the colony where there are multiple hives. And within each hive is the colony that's living in the hive. And it's a site where you can have anywhere from 1 to 2, up to 100. MS. EVANS: Okay. So basically, an apiary is just a definition of the site where they're located. Okay. Because I was trying to follow it because you know, we're using this word, apiary in a couple of different places in this language. So, I wanted to have that clarity. But I also wanted to —and I was kind of surprised that I'm looking at other urban cities and how they break it down by size. So, if you have a half -acre or less; you can have up to X amount, if you have an acre; whatever, you can have X amount. So, they're being much more conscious about the density of them depending on the size or the lot. Here we're saying 15 honey bee hives on lots less than 20,000 square feet. Can you kind of address how you came up with the 20,000 square feet and 15, because it seems pretty dense compared to what I'm seeing in other cities that are again, more urban? Because our island has rural communities, and our islands have urban communities. But this bill is going to cover the entire island, instead of by urban or rural. So this is very important, I think, this particular paragraph just because, you know, we have urban in Kona, for example. And now, these lots are you Page 5 PCHSW-I I April 2, 2024 know, eventually you can have a lot of hives on them. So, I just wanted to see how you came up with the 20,000. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Evans, I think Council Member Kierkiewicz would like to address that. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: You know, I'm happy to invite our collaborators here. There were many iterations of this bill. We actually had prior to this version that's being introduced, we did not set any limits for how many hives can be on a lot. It was after meeting Planning Department and Department of Agriculture, where they said, hold on a second, pump the brakes. I think we need to just have some kind of limitation to ensure, you know, community safety around this. So, we initially had identified a number of eight hives. Many folks in our beekeeping felt that that was a bit too restrictive, and it didn't reflect the reality of what's happening on the ground. So, 15 was a number those folks felt was reasonable, and we could live with and would ensure public health and safety. MS. EVANS: Well, I really appreciate the best practices, because clearly water is the key. Because if you don't have water, they'll go over to the kids' pool next door, you know. I have bee hives on my property, but 15 is a lot of bee hives. That's why I'm asking. Because again, I'm looking at other cities. And they clearly get a little more specific. On one -quarter acre or less, two colonies. Between one -quarter and one-half, four colonies. They really get specific on size. Our communities across our island are so varied. We have one -acre lots, we have three -acre lots, we have 1.0,000 square feet. In Waikoloa, you've got like 6,000 square feet. You know, so how does that play out in terms of the number of hives. So, I personally would like to see this a little more broken down in size and number of colonies. MS. MCCARTHY: I definitely understand your concern, and Council Member Kierkiewicz is something that has been very thoroughly talked about. There is not going to be something I think that we all can agree on as far as specific numbers of hives. And as I recall, there were issues as far as who was going to be able to enforce and also, when it came to planning the amount of employees and people being able to monitor the situation. So, that's when we tried to keep everything simplified, but still being reasonable as much as possible when we were coming up the number of 15. It was said originally was eight, and that is definitely a reasonable number to come up with on a more slightly safer side, but as the beekeeping community has also Page 6 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 illustrated, they would like it to be a little higher. So, that's where we did come up with 15. I believe the best management practices, especially if they're being followed can sustain 15. So, that way people in Waikoloa where the houses are right on top of each other and its lot smaller lots, they're not going to be keeping 15 hives. I mean the bill says they can keep up to that. But because they don't have the proper resources and area around there to actually support these hives in a healthy condition, they would be restricted by that manner rather than something necessarily just on paper. So, one part too, would be importance of the Department of Health plays in helping our program here to implement when people are having issues in that manner, that we can address and, you know, educate and be able to get them to the right number of hives that's one, not disrupting the community or their neighbors and is still allowing them to keep honeybees as well. MS. EVANS: Yeah, I see that the bill's really got some great things going on. I love that's there's no issue with property line. I'm looking at the number of beehives. I'm still uncomfortable with what I read, and the other thing is I notice in some cities when you get to a certain amount of honeybees, it becomes more of a business, or it becomes more of a hobby where you'd have to sell the honey. Because it's a lot of honey once you get up to a certain amount of —so, you're moving more into more of a production issue there, and some places require Special Use Permits. When you go to a certain number and you kick it up to a certain number, then you have to ask for a Special Use Permit. That's where if there's a problem, you just file a complaint with the Planning Department or whatever. You know, that's who would probably regulate at that point. But it's also something to consider, you know, what are we really regulating here. People, you know, wanting to have bees, which all of us, I think really understand bees are so important to our ecosystem. But at some point, when you keep adding hives, at some point it becomes something other than just you like honey, and you want to have pollination. Because people in Waikoloa, they've got so many fruit trees and avocados. I mean, it's just a wonderful place to grow that stuff. But you want bees, you know, so yes. MR. O'DAY: I could add something to that. I think from a beekeeper's standpoint, 12 or 15 hives isn't really that much. But everybody should be trying to be a good neighbor. For example, we just bought out a small beekeeper who had about eight or nine locations, and we're only going to use four of them because they're just not suitable to keep the numbers of bees that we would like on those locations to make it worthwhile to service them. So, we choose locations as a commercial operation very carefully. Page 7 PCHSW-I I April 2, 2024 But when I have people talk to me about becoming a beekeeper, one of the very first things I say to them is, bees die. And they die on a consistent basis. So, if you're going to get one beehive, you need a minimum of four. And four is barely enough, because these people want to be able to regenerate their hives. When their beehives die, and I'm originally from Michigan, so this is a little out of context. But it does somewhat apply here. After winter, you could have one strong hive, one dead hive, one average hive; one very weak hive. Well, that gives you one hive to work with repopulate your apiary. So, four is a very small number. I can consider it a minimum, and that's just my personal opinion. How to really come up with a number that works for everybody is really difficult. Fifteen, some people would consider that's kind of a lot, but it really comes down to really, where are they? You know, are they on a half -acre lot that has neighbors right next to it, or are they on a half -acre lot that's in a somewhat undeveloped area? You know, people really need to get along with each other, and I wasn't part of drafting that number or anything like that, but there are many people that have, I think those numbers at this time. I don't know if we've had complaints. That would really be a question for Maria. MS. MCCARTHY: There are definite complaints with, you know, the growing number, but a lot of it comes from lack of education. And usually if we can go and address the beekeeper, they are most times willing to abide by what our suggestions are; reducing the number of hives, changing locations, turning their night lights off or treating a situation that is better. So, I think that's where, once again, the Department of Health will play a key role when these nuisances can't be agreed upon successfully. And that's why the best management practices are in here. So then, when we've tried to address the situation and make the correct, you know, management differences and they're still not abiding by it, that's when we can turn to the Department of Health and thy can step in and act as the enforcing committee from my understanding of how this is written. MS. EVANS: Okay. I want to thank the author. I think it's going in the right direction. I still would like to see that changed and see more specificity. Because we are an island and we have urban, and small, and our lot sizes vary so much. You know, in density it varies so much. You know, I'd like to see a little more on that. But thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Question to the maker, do we know who currently enforces Code regarding bees? Page 8 PCHSW-11 April 2, 2024 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: I'm sorry, I'm thinking about this. So, the question is, who is currently enforcing bee regulation in Hawaii County? MR. INABA: Yeah. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It's mentioned in Chapter 4 and Chapter 25, which is governed by the Planning Department. However, they don't have the authority to regulate. Someone can file a nuisance complaint, they typically send any concerns to Department of Health Vector Control, State. MR. INABA: Okay. Just something I want us to think about if we're going to make rules, what the best way for enforcement is? If it's the current way or if we need to, you know, provide resources to a department, so that we have it within our control. For definitions, Section 2 of the bill, "Animals." Just wondering the reason for the movement of honeybees next to an exclusion rather than having left it where it was. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sorry, it's been so long. This was something that was suggested to us by Leslie Chow, who was formerly with Legislative Research Branch. And she thought that removing it from where it stated in the Animal definition and calling out specifically, and then tying it to a reference in the Hawai `i Revised Statues, where there is a definition for honeybees. MR. INABA: Okay. Then looking at Section 4-5-3. If we could have our State folks come back forward. Right now, we are defining "Bee" or "Honeybee" as all stages of life for the domesticated honeybee European subspecies, and I'm not going to attempt to say the species name, but does that include all types of honeybees that would be producing honey, or that are typically cared for by the beekeeper? MS. MCCARTHY: So, currently, the only genetics we have of honeybees here on the island is Apis Mellifera honeybees. So, Apis Mellifera Scutellata is what most people consider as Africanized honeybees, and that's what that strain of honeybees is a lot more aggressive. Or defensive would be a better terminology of their surroundings and has caused a lot of public health safety concerns. As the Department of Agriculture, we definitely monitor our ports. We work really hard with our queen breeders, as far as efforts to make sure those strains of honeybees do not get to Hawaii. That's why we wanted to specify though, in this ordinance, that as soon as that strain of honeybees comes here, the ordinance would need to be reconstructed. And there would need to be worked on, because keeping it in a public situation Page 9 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 would definitely cause public health safety. So, as long as it's kept with Apis Mellifera species that we currently have here, there should not be the considerable health concerns as the Africanized honeybees pose. MR. INABA: Okay, then under the section for "Disease." It's Apis Mellifera Scutellata. MS. MCCARTHY: That is the Afticanized honeybee hybrid. And there is multiple hybrids that come with it. And it's hard to fully control. especially in the mainland, bees are going to fly and meet where they want to meet. So, I think this wording is trying to just encompass as an entirety, any of this kind of genetics that would pose public health safety. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. To the maker, in the "Disease" section, it's mentioning diseases also associated with bees that are not, I guess, covered by the definition of bee or honeybee in this section. So, I'm just wondering what the reason for that was. Under the definition of "Disease," the last part of it says, including those associated with the hybrids, basically. But the definition of bee or honeybee specifically excludes those. So, I was wondering why it's being referred to in the "Disease" section, if the entire Bee, Beekeeper, or Honeybee definition excludes them. MS. KIERKIEEWICZ: Chair if I might? Just probably oversight by this, you know, hui of folks and something we can certainly resolve when it comes back to Committee. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. MS. KIERKIIEWICZ: Yeah, thank you. MR. INABA: Sorry, I'm just going right through with hitting the spots that I think might need addressing. Section 4-5-4, (b)(1). I think there might be an extra "the" there after the comma, "ensuring both the health and well-being." So that first "the" could be removed. Then, in Subsection (c) Novice beekeepers should consult with the Department of Research and Development. And I'm wondering, Director Adams, you know, what capacity your department has to provide any kind of consulting or expertise in this area? I just want to make sure we're not sending folks to the department, and we're not prepared or have enough resources to help. (Note: At this time, Research and Development Director Douglass Adams, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 10 PCHS W-11 April 2, 2024 MR. ADAMS: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Doug Adams, Director of Research and Development. In the conversation that we had with Council Member Kierkiewicz with our Agricultural Specialist, Glenn Sako, we have the ability to support any of the agricultural specialties that we have here on the island, including honeybees. I just would add and voice it, of course, we think this is really important as well. Economic development elements associated with the agricultural piece of this is something that will definitely be looking to support. When it comes to anything that's associated with regulation, that's a different story. We do not have regulatory authority currently, so that's just not something that we can do. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you. To the maker, Section 4-5-5, "Nuisance Complaints." I don't know the context around this section. But it says, "Nuisance complaints, such as activity or behavior that disrupts or impedes public health and safety." We're talking about the bees or are we talking about the people; or does this cover both? Because we have two things at play here. That might be the dumb question of the week, but I just wanted to ask it. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's a really good question and catch. My gosh, we've been through so many versions of this. You know, it really comes down to how an individual is managing their apiary operation. If there is neglect, if there aren't proper resources that are available, then obviously, the bee is not going to be happy, and it's going to be a nuisance to others. So, we can certainly refine this language, but it was to bring clarity around, if there are issues with an apiary, we want to be clear where this individual should be filing their complaint. MR. INABA: Okay. Then Section 4 of the bill, definition of "Livestock." There's just some restructuring that's gone. It's just an offering by Ms. Chow. I mean, it's just that there's been like reordering, and we're doing colon, semi -colon. That was just a preference? Okay. Section 5, I'm almost pau. "Apiary," I think just to keep the wording in line with the definition, the word, "managed," should be "maintained," for the first part. Because Section 4-5-4 is management and is referred to later in that section. Lastly, State folks, sorry. Is there a standard size of a hive, because right now, as it's defined, it's the structure in which the colony is "confined" or "resides in," it but it could be huge, and removable, and portable. So, is there a standard size or no? MS. MCCARTHY: There is a standard size for Langstroth hives. It's going to be eight to ten frames within a colony. And then on top of that, there can be Page 11 PCHSW-11 April 2, 2024 added boxes. So, it can expand. But the minimum size considered for an actual hive would be eight to ten frames. There are smaller versions of these that queen breeders use for mating purposes for their queen bees. But our definition for State and what we hold people to is eight to ten frames is considered that. Now, when it comes to a Langstroth hive, we don't really deal with much regulatory purposes on that. So, someone else may be able to give a better definition, or we can definitely put in writing a more defined purpose for a Top Bar hive. MR. INABA: Okay, thank you so much. That's all my questions. Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. In support of moving this forward. And thank you everyone for coming to share your expertise today. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Sure. First off want to start with thanking Council. Member Kierkiewicz for taking an issue that kind of fell dormant for a while, quite literally. We also had a pandemic in there somewhere. So, we were all working on separate things in our safe zones. But beekeeping falls close to my heart with my step -father, Bob Cary having run Kona Queen for decades and recently retired. So, his knowledge and expertise when it came to the propagation of Queen Bees and the care of hives and colonies, an apiary as a whole; and also, his service when we had the mite show up here on the Big Island. So, I just hold this very close to my heart and recognize the need for our legal system to more effectively and appropriately reflect the needs and desires of the community that takes care of our sacred bees here. I also want to recognize the testifier and one of your questions in pointing out about kind of the disparity and what creates diversity in colonies and whatnot. We're at such a weird time in the history of humans and species. In that the ways that we have created over thousands of years, right, beekeeping. Humans and our relationships with bees, and how we navigate that with the push and the pull and what can we control. I just wanted to recognize your heart and your real commitment to regenerative beekeeping and those parameters. And at the same time look at what's been created for an industry, one of the largest queen bee exporters in the world. The uniqueness that we have here on this island. The properties available. The ranchers that are worked with consistently for placement of the hives. And the Page 12 PCHSW-ll April 2, 2024 community that's been created there. I hold it very close to my heart and with the highest honor and respect. We all know that without bees, we die. Period, point blank, exclamation point. Bees are the fundamental carrier, quite literally, of our life force. And so, with all of you working so diligently, whether or not it's in small capacities or large capacities, I'm just really heartened to see after all these years and these conversations, for things to continue to grow and thrive in a hive. You know, the small nuances, I also respect. You know, the questions that are being brought up, and I would say, I probably represent the most urban district on this island. But even within that district, you know, I see bees all over the place and fewer people being affected. I was always marveled by papa's hands that were full of all the stings and how much stronger it made him. You know, we have all the science behind bee stings now, too, and how it improves our immune system and the things that people used to be more afraid of now have become more curiosity and honor for and being recognized as sacred. I mean, we even have the —I'm going to butcher the name. But it's the smiley-face bee that lives down; the Hylaeus bee. It's an indigenous bee that lives in the Heliotropes; on our beaches and on our coastlines. So, there's just so much magic to be found in the bee kingdom. And let's keep those more aggressive and agitatable African bees out. But I appreciate the continued efforts, and I know it's a really big topic on the State level, supporting our ports. I mean I had a girlfriend to try to take honey to New Zealand for a paddling meet, and not only did they take the honey, but they fined her $600. Point blank, New Zealand does not mess around. You bring nothing in, period. You will not jeopardize the sanctity of their ecosystems and the species there. And boy, I wish we had that diligence and budget and capacity to do that for Hawaii. But I think through your guys' vigilance, that we can continue to move forward and honor our bees. I'll be supporting this moving forward, and I trust that the nuances of the little items that have opportunities to be improved on will be done. But I just thank you guys for being here and cherish the community that you have created. And there's something special about bee people. So, thanks for being here today. I yield. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. First of all, for the gentleman from Michigan, I have to ask —I'm from Michigan. Did you by any chance, know my dad, Page 13 PCHSW-11 April 2, 2024 Robert Kimball. He was a big beekeeper back -in -the -day. MR. O'DAY: I've heard the name, for sure. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, okay. I remember going to all the bee conferences. We were in Southeastern Michigan; so Plymouth. But he kept bees all around that area. MR. O'DAY: I definitely know the name. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, okay. What a small world we live in. But yeah, obviously, come from a family of beekeepers as well. So, I was excited to have this discussion today about this legislation. Just referencing the "Disease" definition. To me it's worded properly, so I don't think that needs an adjustment. The species name needs to be corrected. It should be lower case there. But the one point I wanted to ask to the maker, would you be amenable for Section 4-5-4 (b)(8) to include the word, "non-invasive," when we talk about seasonal flowers? Just because I wanted to do the right thing and plant some really nice friendly bee plants in my yard, and it turned out to be this really invasive sunflower that got everywhere, and I had to dig out, and it became a huge nightmare. You know, we're trying to do so much about invasives. When you brought up about Albizia, that reminded me, that you know, we don't just plant anything. We want to be a little sensitive to that and not cause other problems. Then, I kind of have to concur, you know, the first glance I was fine with the 15, but I kind of think Council Member Evans is on to something that we may want to start a little lower and let the Planning Director provide exemptions for more. Because what I was hearing in your explanation, is there's a lot of discretionary things that —oh, it may be this, it may be that. And when you have those types of scenarios, it's good to have somebody's eyes on it before just saying, "Okay, this is the floor." Then you know, you can do that, and maybe even less. But if we made the floor a little lower but gave the Director —it's already worded in here that the Director has the ability to increase that depending on the circumstances. I can see wanting to say, this is a first-time person. They've never done it before. Then, maybe they should only start with eight on a smaller lot? Then if it's somebody that's really a pro and has been doing it for a while, sure, the Director can give them the discretion to go to a higher amount. So, I know this Page 14 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 is all something we can discuss when it comes back from Planning, but that's my thinking on that as well. Then, I just wanted to ask the Director or the maker, how are we on timing for your commissions? I know we've been hammering them hard. Are you okay with us moving through right now or do we need to give you a little breathing room? Maybe we all should discuss this with Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIIERKIIEWICZ: I mean, I notified Planning Department that it would be heard on this date, so they knew it would be coming. And I didn't get any objections from the Department about hearing it in Commission. So, if we're able to move it forward, that's my hope. (Note: At this time, Planning Director Zendo Kern, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. KERN: Good Morning, Madame Chair and Members of the Committee. Zendo Kern, Planning Director. Thank you for bringing that up. Yeah, I think we've done a lot of collaboration on this. So, I don't think it's going to be that heavy of a lift. I think the timing, now that we're past some of these other heavier lifts with the TAR (Transient Accommodation Rental Code) and ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) bills, the timing is going to be right there. We should be coming to Commission right at the time we're kind of wrapping up the TAR and ADU bills. Thank you for the consideration on that. I think we should be okay. MS. KIN413ALL: I know that the consideration for those volunteers who have been putting in a lot of work lately and want to make sure that we're good on that, so. MR. KERN: It's both our staff and the volunteers, which are short-staffed. So, the combination if trying. So, thank you for that. MS. KE\4BALL: Great. Alright, yeah, happy to move this forward and see where the discussion goes on it. And thank you for putting this forward. I think it's something that needed to happen. So, good work. I yield, Chair. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Sure. First of all, to the maker, yes. Thank you for advancing this. I think this is something long in coming. And to the testifiers, really taking the time out of your day to be here. You know, in support of this bill. I think there's a few more steps that we have to go through. So, definitely want to get it over to the Planning Commission and have them evaluate it. Page 15 PCHSW-I I April 2, 2024 But to my Director and Deputy Director, could you also evaluate the Hawai `i Revised Statutes (HRS) as it relates to the right to farm, against this bill. And I see them giving me the thumbs up, because we're dealing with something else where individuals are trying to farm, and their adjacent property owners don't like it. And so, there's some Notice of Violations that happen, and some things that happen, but there's a provision that actually covers a lot of our farmers with the right to farm under HRS. So, I just want to make sure that we're lining up everybody very nicely. Thank you, Director Kern and Deputy Darrow. Thank you so much. And with that, yes. In support of and look forward to moving this along. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Evans. MS. EVANS: Just a question on process. Because it goes to the Planning Commission and comes back to the Committee even though we've talked about making changes and finding things that need to be amended. So, we don't do that at this point? We wait until it comes back to Committee to do it? I'm just kind of curious, because it's going to leave knowing that maybe we want to make some changes. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sure. So, today is kind of the first step in the process to get this document into the public's sphere. So, first the public is hearing about it. It's going to be then referred to the Planning Director and Commissions for their formal comment and recommendation. They may find more things that they may want us to consider in terms of updates. When we get their recommendation review back here in this Committee, at that point we would be making some adjustments to amendments to the proposed bill. So, it'll happen after we get whatever comes from Commission and Director. MS. EVANS: So, it'll come back to Committee one more time. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: It'll come back to Committee before it can move forward to Council. MS. EVANS: Okay, alright. I just have to remember everything. Thank you. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: There's one other thing I had forgotten about that Sue reminded me of. Would love to just get a quick comment back from RPT (Real Page 16 PCHS W-11 April 2, 2024 Property Tax) and make sure there's not going to be any challenges there, and the fact that this is an income -producing activity. We may want to do some sort of pre-emptive work with Chapter 19 around this as well. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you. Good point. Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah, I'll just do some quick comments before you wrap everything up, Chair. Thank you all for being here. There's like two pages of positive testimony that's been submitted, so I'm really grateful to the community of beekeepers and folks that just support Ag, in general, for showing up and supporting this really important piece of legislation. There were a couple of folks. I think, Alison and Jenny. You folks have ideas on how we can improve the bill. Would welcome your suggestions. This has been always a collaborative effort. I just didn't know you, Ms. Yahna, and so, totally welcome your comments. I know Jenny has been a big fan and has been aware of our work. So, now is the time to continue to refine, so that's it's something that everybody can get behind. I just want to —sorry, it's not a place where we're able to enter into dialogue. Thank you for understanding. I just want to highlight that there have been very clear lines of delineation in terms of roles in this bill. There's the Planning side, which identifies, you know, where and how many hives can be situated on a property. We didn't want to make things overly bureaucratic because at the end of the day, somebody has to enforce this. And Planning is just not equipped. And so, we wanted to make sure that we were managing expectations around that. We also know the critical role that Research and Development plays especially in supporting sustainable communities and food systems. There may or may not be beekeeper experts in Research and Development. But our hope with identifying them as supporting best management practices was that in their annual budget, they can put some money out into the community to a local nonprofit that can serve as the intermediary for education and awareness around how to set up a, you now, proper apiary operation. Then when it comes down to just regulations, we wanted to make sure we were calling out the appropriate State partners here. Not Department of Ag, but Department of Health. If there are any nuisance complaints that is going to be the body that can address that. This is, I think, one of the most comprehensive pieces of legislation with beekeeping that's been introduced. I don't think any of the other counties has anything related to best management practices. That was so important to us that Page 17 PCHSW- 11 April 2, 2024 we wanted to have included. Because if people were going to be interested in this craft, we wanted to make sure that there was a framework in place, so that they can set their operations up successfully. Just want to again, thank everybody for your time, your collaboration. There's still more work to do, but I feel really good about what we've put out here. Thanks for all the hard work. Chair, I yield. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz, and thank you for bringing this forward. I just wanted to actually ask one question, and it's about this part in Section 2, where there's the definition of "Animals." I'm just kind of wondering because it is in "Animals," which is mostly about Animal Control. Why is it that honey bees are in that list, actually? Does it then become the responsibility of Animal Control because it's on that list? I wasn't sure why it was there and the history of it. Because they aren't really pets, there're more livestock. So, don't necessarily have to answer that right now, I'm just kind of curious about it being there, and obviously it was there before. So, something we might want to maybe think about, and you may have the answer. MS. KIIERKIEWICZ: I'll note that there is an article related to definitions for the entire chapter, that's in Article 1, but it's in no way going to have anything to do with the Animal Control and Protection Agency. ACTING CHR. GALIMBA: Okay, alright. Thanks. So, yes, I think this is a great bill. I definitely want to be sure that we have an inclusive and support our degenerative beekeepers. So, look forward to working with any and all beekeepers, especially the ones in Ka'5, to make sure that their beekeeping practices are included and supported in this bill. And we can definitely work together on that. Yes, not seeing any other lights on, we can take the vote on this bill. So, all in favor of forwarding Bill 144 to the Planning Commissions and Director with a positive note? All in favor of that, please say "aye." Page 18 PCHSW- I I April 2, 2024 Vote on Motion to Refer Bill 144: The motion to refer Bill 144 to the Planning Director and (Approved) Planning Commissions was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Evans, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Lee Loy, Villegas, and Acting Chair Galimba — 6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba, Kagiwada, and Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder — 3. Excused: None. ADJOURN- There being no further business, Acting Chair Galimba adjourned at 11: 14 a.m. MENT: Approved: Ms. JVn Ka$wada, Vair Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being JK/dt AM 0 (Date) Page 19