HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0765.100 2016-2018Aloha Valerie,
Dave Longacre here, fruit grower and reforester in Hakalau on Chin Chuck Road.
I read the recent Tribune Herald article on Councilmember O'Hara's proposed bill
to restrict roosters in the county. My belief is that we as a county should NOT
adopt any ag-restrictive measures if that is what this bill amounts to.
I get that roosters make noise. There are lots of things that occur in the process of
using land for ag-related purposes that can be disruptive to residential use. That,
in my mind, is why we have residentially -zoned land and ag-zoned land. The
conflict Ms. O'Hara attempts to address is a classic case that erupts when there is
de facto conversion of ag land into residential land. The way to address this
problem -- if indeed there is a way -- is not to pose restrictions on the ag land,
which is already under pressure. I think that, if statutes against chicken -fighting
exist, those should be pursued to restrict land use which amounts to animal
cruelty or otherwise violates existing law.
As an elected leader of our county, you know of the law of unintended
consequences. This bill, if it exists as the newspaper article portrays it, would
open the floodgates to a raft of such consequences. What's next?: The cows have
to be reined in because their manure smell disturbs "homeowners"; windbreak
trees must be disallowed because their protective height blocks the ocean views of
"homeowners." Where would it end? This is a slippery slope that we do not need
to go down.
I have lovely young neighbors whose roosters remind me every day that I live in
the country. I not only accept it but I love it, particularly as someone who has
lived in the middle Honolulu in earlier years of my life. I have anunused lot next
door to me; is it possible that the owner could someday install a pig farm there?
Probably. Can pig farms be less than pleasant? Yes. My position?: as long as
the owner is compliant with federal, state, and county statutes regarding health,
animal welfare, etc, I accept that use of land as part of living in ag zoning.
And, by the way, I try to apply the live and let -live principle to all the vacation
rentals that have sprung up in my Hakalau neighborhood, or to the really nice
folks who have moved here for their dream homes and who probably have ZERO
intention of doing anything ag-related with their lots.
Finally, it is my understanding that the state's Right -to -Farm statute generally
precludes county -level restrictions on ag-related uses of ag-zoned land. Has the
interaction between Ms. O'Hara's bill and state statute been fully understood?
c .. Ro.
M19—
From: Carter, Sunshine
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Rooster Bill Testimony
Date: Monday, March 12, 2018 12:18:50 PM
On Mar 5, 2018, at 4:11 PM, David Longacre <ciinosti rg iagyahoo.coin> wrote:
Aloha Valerie,
Dave Longacre here, fruit grower and reforester in Hakalau on Chin Chuck Road.
I read the recent Tribune Herald article on Councilmember O'Hara's proposed bill
to restrict roosters in the county. My belief is that we as a county should NOT
adopt any ag-restrictive measures if that is what this bill amounts to.
I get that roosters make noise. There are lots of things that occur in the process of
using land for ag-related purposes that can be disruptive to residential use. That,
in my mind, is why we have residentially -zoned land and ag-zoned land. The
conflict Ms. O'Hara attempts to address is a classic case that erupts when there is
de facto conversion of ag land into residential land. The way to address this
problem -- if indeed there is a way -- is not to pose restrictions on the ag land,
which is already under pressure. I think that, if statutes against chicken -fighting
exist, those should be pursued to restrict land use which amounts to animal
cruelty or otherwise violates existing law.
As an elected leader of our county, you know of the law of unintended
consequences. This bill, if it exists as the newspaper article portrays it, would
open the floodgates to a raft of such consequences. What's next?: The cows have
to be reined in because their manure smell disturbs "homeowners"; windbreak
trees must be disallowed because their protective height blocks the ocean views of
"homeowners." Where would it end? This is a slippery slope that we do not need
to go down.
I have lovely young neighbors whose roosters remind me every day that I live in
the country. I not only accept it but I love it, particularly as someone who has
lived in the middle Honolulu in earlier years of my life. I have anunused lot next
door to me; is it possible that the owner could someday install a pig farm there?
Probably. Can pig farms be less than pleasant? Yes. My position?: as long as
the owner is compliant with federal, state, and county statutes regarding health,
animal welfare, etc, I accept that use of land as part of living in ag zoning.
And, by the way, I try to apply the live and let -live principle to all the vacation
rentals that have sprung up in my Hakalau neighborhood, or to the really nice
folks who have moved here for their dream homes and who probably have ZERO
intention of doing anything ag-related with their lots.
Finally, it is my understanding that the state's Right -to -Farm statute generally
precludes county -level restrictions on ag-related uses of ag-zoned land. Has the
interaction between Ms. O'Hara's bill and state statute been fully understood?
c .. Ro.
M19—
Perhaps Ms. O'Hara is only addressing the presence of roosters in residentially -
zoned land, and if so, I realize that is"a different issue from roosters on farmland.
Still, I really believe we need to be ever -vigilant to threats to our ability to pursue
ag-related land use on ag-zoned lands.
Please be strong for us on this matter.
Much love and aloha,
Dave Longacre
Mahalo,
S Caulte'r
Legislative Assistant to Council Chairwoman Valerie T. Poindexter
County of Hawaii I District 1
Office of the County Clerk I Council Division
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hi. 96720
808 961-8538
sunshine.carter[�hawaiicounty.gov
E hana me ko ha'aha'a / Let us work in humbleness