HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0042.069 2004-2006
Dr. Fred Holschuh .
Mr. Gary Safarik, Chairman r.~',~~~ ~ i
Honorable County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720 ~~~~1
RE: General Plan
Hawaii County Zoning Code
January 18, 2005
Dear Dr. Holschuh, Chairman Safarik, and County Council,
Aloha Dr. Holschuh. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me the other day about
the County Draft of the General Plan and the Kapulena communities concerns regarding
the Special Permit Process. As you mentioned, I am including Chairman Safarik in this
letter .and request that a copy of this letter be given to the entire County Council.
First, I would like to address the General Plan after which I will address the Hawaii
County Zoning Code.
Because you were unable to attend the Council meeting on January 3 & 4, 2005, wherein
the General Plan was discussed and public testimony taken, I feel that the concerns
presented by the Hamakua community were not fully addressed by the council. The
clause that speaks ab®ut c®~apleti®n ®f the l0~ud Lane th®r®ughfare sh®uld be
deleted. If Mud Lane is completed it would create additional traffic in an agricultural
area where the existing roads are used for mostly agricultural traffic and it would divert
traffic from Honokaa town. The merchants and business owners in Honokaa depend upon
traffic coming through town for much of their livelihood. If Mud Lane were connected
much of the traffic through Honokaa town would disappear.
Additionally, I do not believe that the Hamakua Coast wants to be considered an area for
small-scale retreat/resort development. In all of the community meetings, which I have
attended, hosted by Dwight Takamine, never once have I heard this being discussed. In
fact, I have heard just the opposite. The community is in the process of developing a
community plan. The vision statement the community developed for Hamakua is as
follows:
1. "Agriculture in the District of Hamakua is the heart of the community,
providing profitable, sustainable, repeatable, healthy opportunities in
which farmers and their families thrive. Numerous successful family
farming enterprises of various sizes produce a wide variety of crops and
value added goods that are world class, well recognized and in demand.
2. Land use policies rec®gnize the value of I-~arnakua's agricultural
contribution and pr®tect, preserve and supp®rt the welfare and
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continuation of true agricultural uses. As a model Hamakua has not
only set the pace for island agriculture, but it positively affects the
economy, culture and social fabric of the community. As a result,
Hamakua is recognized not only for its agricultural offerings but also for
its ethnic, cultural leadership and economic diversity. It is a place where
its children and children's children can expect to live and work surrounded
by healthy, responsible and diverse agriculture."
With these thoughts in mind, Hamakua should not be considered an area where retreat
and/or resorts should be encouraged. Therefore, any reference that retreats and
resorts belong in Hamakua is erroneous and should be deleted from the General
Plan. Please request that these statements be deleted from the Draft before the final vote
on the General Plan.
Keeping the above thoughts and vision statement in mind, I would now like to turn from
the General Plan to the Zoning Code.
Dr. Holschuh as we discussed the Kapulena community is extremely concerned about the
Special Permit Process as allowed by Section 25-5-72 of the Hawaii County Code.
Under this section a number of uses are permitted on agricultural lands. Some uses
require what is called a special permit. Any person may apply for a special permit with
the proper documents and a $100 fee. What this comes down to is people are being
allowed to change the zoning on a piece of property without having to go to the trouble to
rezone it. This is happening mainly on agricultural land. Because these permits run with
the land, this action results in the loss of agricultural land in perpetuity and is tantamount
to spot zoning anywhere for $100. If the County allows the special permit process to
continue there may as well be no zoning code at all.
The County Planning Office also has been advising people to use the special permit
process to legitimize illegal structures that they have built on their property. I suggest to
you, that by doing this, the County is in essence giving people a reason to build illegally
after which they can legitimize those structures by way of getting a special permit. The
Kapulena community is very familiar with this scenario because we have had several
neighboring properties try to resolve illegal structures in this way. To compound
matters, the Land Use Committee is made up of people who can't be held accountable far
their decisions because they are not elected officials. 1 believe that any special use permit
should be brought to the attention of our elected officials, i.e. the County Council.
As you will recall, you attended a meeting with the Kapulena community along with
Robert Usagawa and Daryn Arai of the Planning Department back in August of 2004.
During that meeting Mr. Arai stated that the Land Use Committee has never turned down
an application for a special permit. This is extremely alarming as some people are being
rewarded with permits to legitimize illegal structures and operations through the Special
Permit process. This is a giant loophole in the zoning code. Robert Usagawa stated he is
the only person responsible for checking on violations for the entire county. He also
stated no one is making sure that special permit parameters are being enforced once a
permit is issued unless there is a complaint.
I believe the County is in violation of its own code. While one of our neighbors (Earth
Aware) has been fined for their violation, another neighbor has not, even though they
have admitted under oath they are in violation of the code. (See Pettus, Land Use
Committee Transcripts dated December 19, 2004) Under Section 25-2-1 (b) "The
director shall enforce all other provisions of this chapter pertaining to land use." It would
seem to me that the director, Chris Yuen, must carry out his duties based on what the
Hawaii County Code states, not on personal discretion. The fines imposed under the
Hawaii County Code Section ZS-2-35 are for the benefit of the general public and should
be enforced for the benefit of the taxpayers. By enforcing the zoning code the County is
saying it will no longer tolerate unpermitted uses and continued building without the
proper permits. Penalties must be imposed on people who are in violation of the code.
Violators are robbing Hawaii County of the property taxes that law-abiding citizens must
pay. The Pettus' have several un-permitted houses that they have had for many years and
they have not paid any taxes on those residences. Earth Aware ran a retreat business for
five years illegally in an agricultural building without paying taxes on a building housed
approximately ten guest rooms and brought them a large amount of income. The County
has fined Earth Aware. The Pettus', as of this date, to my knowledge, have not been
fined. I think both should pay the fines as prescribed by the County Code. Don't you?
The actions that I believe should be taken immediately would be as follows:
1. Place a moratorium on the special permit process where agricultural land
would be used for non-agricultural or limited agricultural uses.
2. If a special permit is considered then the County Council should be required
to approve the permits since they are our elected officials. The Land Use
Committee does not consist of elected officials.
3. The County should significantly increase taxes on existing and future special
use permits in agricultural areas. These increased taxes should be designated
for enforcement costs and personnel who would be responsible to oversee
compliance of permit parameters. This should not be the responsibility of
neighbors.
4. The zoning code must be revised to prohibit owners from applying for a
special use permit if they are in violation or have illegal structures built on
their property. The special permit process should not be a way in which
people can resolve the issue of illegal structures.
5. Stringent guideline must be developed regarding agricultural tourism. Even
though it is called agricultural tourism, tourism is tourism plain and simple
and the special permit process should not be the catch all for everything. The
County Zoning Code currently has no guidelines or definitions for retreats.
Is it really fair for someone to move onto agricultural land expecting a rural lifestyle
only to have their neighbor decide they want to run a resort or retreat, and then be able to
basically subvert the existing zoning for only a $100 fee? I think we would all agree that
this should not be the intent of the special permit process. I ask you to take a good look
at this issue and act accordingly through the appropriate channels.
Your time, attention and interest are greatly appreciated, not only by myself but many,
many of my neighbors. If you have any questions or comments, I can be contacted as
mentioned below. Mahalo.
Sincerely,
Lisa R. Anderson
P.O. Box 1338
Honokaa, HI 96727
(808)775-0494
Cc: Mayor Harry Kim
Hawaii County Council
Representative Dwight Takamine