HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1841.000 1984-1988 DANTE K. CARPENTER
MAYOR
il( Or
October 27 , 1988
Honorable Stephen K. Yamashiro, Chairman
and Councilmembers
County Council
County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Dear Chairman Yamashiro and Councilmembers :
Re: Bill 607 (Draft 3 ) and Bill 608 (Draft 3 )
I am transmitting Bills 607 (draft 3 ) and 608 (draft 3 ) to you
approved with reservations . These bills rezone land for the
Kukio and Kaupulehu development projects . Each bill contains
an affordable housing condition which in part requires the
developers to construct affordable housing based on 60 percent
of the total number of residential units proposed within each
project. For the Kukio project, the maximum number of
affordable housing units required is 1 , 497 . The total number
of affordable housing units required for the Kaupulehu development
project is 718 . The total value of the affordable housing to
be provided by both projects is $17 , 771, 250. I support both
projects and in particular the affordable housing conditions
which were recommended by my administration. As a result of
my administration' s efforts, these projects now provide an
appropriate mix of economic and housing opportunities for our
island community, which are so greatly needed.
However, while I applaud the Council' s support of my
administration' s efforts in the area of affordable housing by
adopting the housing conditions in bills 607 and 608 , I am
appalled that it has cast a shadow over these all important
and badly needed affordable housing conditions by insert. ng
an illegal provision into the housing conditions. In both bills,
Comm. No., .
/8#/
File No., Z Aid/AN
Ref. Tot.
COUNTY OF HAWAII • HILO, HAWAII 96720 OCT 8
Ref. Date. 1A Z
Honorable Stephen K. Yamashiro, Chairman
and Councilmembers
Page 2
October 27 , 1988
the Hawaii County Council has given itself, as the Hawaii County
Housing Agency, the power to approve the method of satisfying
the affordable housing conditions. As you were advised by the
Corporation Counsel, this violates the doctrine of separation
of powers, the Hawaii County Charter, and the Hawaii County
Code. As you know, the Charter places the executive function
of administering the law in the executive branch of government.
Furthermore, the Hawaii County Code limits the role of the
Hawaii County Housing Agency to policy making. Thus , the County
Housing agency is required by the Hawaii County Code to be
involved only in the making of long-range housing policy, not
in the administration of individual projects .
Fortunately, the Office of the Corporation Counsel has advised
me that the invalid provisions in bill 607 (draft 3 ) and
bill 608 (draft 3 ) are severable from the rest of each bill
and that the remainder of bills 607 and 608 are, therefore,
valid as they may be implemented without the aforementioned
illegal provisions . Therefore, while I have signed these bills
into law, I will administer these bills without reference to
the illegal provision. Instead, this condition will be
administered, as required by the Charter, by the appropriate
executive agency charged with the responsibility of approving
the method of satisfying the affordable housing requirement.
I urge the Council to respect the will of the citizens of this
County, as expressed in their Charter, by operating within the
law by limiting itself to the lawful activities of legislation
and policy making. If the Council continues to adopt
legislation which blatantly disregards the Hawaii County
Charater' s separation of powers requirement, I will, as the
enforcer of the Charter, take appropriate action to insure that
the Charter' s legal requirements are complied with.
e Aloha Pumehana,
Dante K. 4 arpent'-r
Mayor
October 31, 1988 C-1841
Dante K. Carpenter
MAYOR
Bill 607, Draft 3, and Bill 608, Draft 3
October 28, 1988
October 27 , 1988
Committee on Planning