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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0042.041 2004-2006 Testimony Relating to Bill 163-Draft 3 t.;~, ~ ? November 19, 2004 ~.i,~ ~ Chairmen Leningrad Elarionoff and Hawaii County Council Planning Committee Members Aloha Council Members, Councilman Fred Holschuh encouraged us to submit the following testimony relating to Bill 163--Draft 3 for your consideration. Our concerns relate to the construction of two multi-level 5000 square foot homes currently being built in Kukuihaele adjacent to the Waipi'o Lookout on agricultural zoned land. These houses are being built on 2 lots, both about one acre in size. We have had discussions with Planning Director Chris Yuen, Engineering Chief Galen Kuba, and Building Department Head, Brian Kajikawa expressing the feeling that houses of this size are inappropriate for a location considered as a special scenic area, a major tourist attraction and an icon of our island. Unfortunately, we have been told that nothing can be done to prevent continuation of the project in its current form. Except fora 35 foot height limit above newly elevated house pads, there is nothing under current County law which prevents the lot from being completely changed and the houses from being completed as designed. This testimony is submitted to help encourage the creation of ordinances and standards which prevent this scenario from reoccurring. Note, our discussions with Kukuihaele neighbors indicate that they are troubled with what is happening. This testimony, however, is ours and does not necessarily represent the views of the community or other groups. We have been following the progress of this project since initial grading began during the last week of September. It has not been our intention to prevent building on the site. Our hope, when we began tracking the progress of the project in early October, was that the owner/developer would NOT be able to make whatever changes he wanted with the land, block neighbors' views, and build any size house. We understood that the County has planning and construction review permit processes in place which would ensure proper review and compliance with at least reasonable standards. It now, unfortunately, appears that we were wrong. Here is the history of what has happened: After viewing initial grading in late September, we called the County Public Works Department to determine what was going to happen on the property. We provided the TMK numbers, 4-8-004-036 & 4-8-004-025, which we obtained from the County website along with the name of the owner-Yapia LLC with a Boulder Colorado address, to the Building Department. We were told that no permit had been approved. On October 8, after viewing major earth moving and elevation changes to the property, including 2multi-level, elevated house pads, we visited the Public Works Comm. No. Ref. To: L 1 Ref. Late Testimony Relating to Bill 163-Draft 3 Department in Hilo and were informed that both grading and construction permits were under review and had not yet been approved. The Engineering Division staff member was helpful and provided us with printouts for both TMKs. We were asked if we wished to file a formal complaint. Wanting to get more information and having a concern for making the complaint public information, we did not file a complaint. We then spoke with the real estate agent who had sold the properties. Although he is not legally responsible for the purchased property, he said he would contact the developer and express our concerns about appropriate use of the land. We have never received any follow-up communication. Rumors, some true and others not, move swiftly through our small community. We knew that large 2-story houses were in the plan, but were shocked early this month to hear that the properties included two 5000 square foot dwellings. This, we and our neighbors feel is inappropriate, outrageous, and not at all compatible with the homes in our neighborhood. In addition, since these homes are being built on elevated, multi- level house pads, they will block much of the view of all the surrounding neighbors. Our communications with Councilman Holschuh went way beyond concern at this point after learning of the size of the houses. We told him that we had no problem, at this point, disclosing our names as concerned residents and forwarding these concerns to the appropriate department heads. Councilman Holschuh suggested that we first contact Chris Yuen. Mr. Yuen responded to a phone message the next day. He indicated that there is no legal way to modify the construction plan under current County statute. The only limitations on these subdivided Ag 40 parcels, aside from flagrant abuse of land movement and building within 500 feet of the coastline is a 35 foot height limit. He was informed of the major grading changes to the property and suggested that we contact the Public Works Department, because this would be an Engineering issue. Engineering Chief, Galen Kuba, was informed of major grading changes to the property. Mr. Kuba was also informed that adequate allowances for drainage may not be occurring. He stated that not much could be done at this point, except corrective actions might be required, if determined necessary. Minimal penalties, doubling the permit fee, could also be assessed for performing work without a permit. He informed us that a building construction permit was approved on 10/27/04. Mr. Kuba also stated that Engineering is responsible for areas only outside the house lines. An Engineering inspector is now assigned to check things out relating to their area of responsibility. Mr. Kuba referred us to the Building Department for more discussion regarding earth movement on the house pad sections of the properties. Brian Kajikawa, Building Department Chief, provided us with more information. The Planning Department approved both homesites on 9/9/04. He confirmed the 10/27/04 construction permit approval date. Mr. Kajikawa also provided insight on the responsibilities of other County offices. 2 Testimony Relating to Bill 163-Draft 3 Mr. Kuba returned a call today regarding Engineering grading approval. No permit has been approved. The contractor will be fined, if the inspector finds a problem. Please consider the following in the discussion of the County General Plan and subsequent regional plans. We believe that what is occurring here at Waipi'o should be used an example of what is happening Island-wide, because of the lack of standards and ordinances. Please place teeth in the new laws to prevent abuse and inappropriate land use, as well as a real review of house size and design and placement on the lots to preserve view planes. This will not be easy. People with money, power and influence, as well as folks who feel that land use controls border on socialism and communism, will be ready for a fight. Permit violation penalties are pitifully inadequate. Building permits for these $1 million homesites is $890. The penalty for doing work without permit is double the fee. That is a night out at the Mauna Lani with friends for dinner and drinks for a wealthy developer. We do not doubt the professional integrity of County staff but we are disturbed by how easy it is for department and division chiefs to pass on the responsibility to other offices. We heard this is not in my field of control too many times for our patience. One positive suggestion is to integrate computerized recordkeeping systems to prevent citizens from having to go from one office to another to get all the information that they need. Amore serious issue is that there appears to be turf issues including who is responsible and in a potential path of blame. Developing construction approval processes which require teamwork and cross-functional cooperation may be needed. Note, we also understand the difficulties of County staff in dealing with these matters. (1) They lack the tools in the form of ordinance and quality standards; (2) They may lack an adequate number of skilled staff to deal with permitting and enforcement to handle the amount of new construction which is occurring on our island; (3) Ordinances and rules need to be clear, concise, and enforceable for consistent implementation of policy. Mahalo for listening. Joel Cohen and Phyllis Tarail, residents of the road to the Waipi'o Lookout PO Box 5022 Kukuihaele HI 96727 775-1306 3