HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-19 - EMC Draft FOF-COL-Order - Kai Ala Partners v. Mansour1
BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I, STATE OF HAWAI‘I
KAI ALA PARTNERS LLC,
Applicant/Appellant,
vs.
RAMZI I. MANSOUR, DIRECTOR,
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I
Appellee.
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF
LAW, AND ORDER
HEARINGS:
Date: January 7, 2022 and April 20, 2022
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. On October 12, 2021, Under Part 7, of the Hawaiʻi County Environmental
Management Commission’s (“EMC”) Rules of Practice and Procedure, Kai Ala Partners LLC
(“Appellant”) filed an appeal, challenging the June 10, 2021 decision of the Director of the
Department of Environmental Management, County of Hawaiʻi (“Appellee”) to impose a
monthly sewer maintenance fee for an unoccupied unit located on Appellant’s property.
2. Hearings were held on January 7, 2022 and April 20, 2022, where Appellant and
Appellee presented documentary and oral evidence.
3. Appellant maintained that the structure Appellee determined to be an unoccupied
unit, per Hawaiʻi County Code (“HCC”), Section 21-2, was not an unoccupied unit.
4. The Director asserted that the structure satisfied the definition of “unoccupied
unit” as set forth in HCC § 21-2.
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5. At its meeting on April 20, 2022, the EMC found that the structure at issue,
located on Appellant’s property at 75-5944 Aliʻi Drive, Kailua-Kona, 96740, does not receive a
water bill.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. HCC § 21-2 defines an “unoccupied unit” as “a unit that is not occupied but has
accessibility to a sewer, plumbing fixtures located on it, and currently receives a water bill.”
2. In relevant part, HCC § 21-31 states that “[u]noccupied units will be assessed a
monthly maintenance fee equal to the current monthly sewer user fee.”
3. Under EMC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, Rule 7-4(4)(a) and (b), the EMC
has the authority to reverse Appellee’s decision if it “violates the law” or is “clearly
erroneous[.]”
4. The EMC finds that Appellee’s decision violated HCC § 21-31 and was clearly
erroneous because the structure on Appellant’s property was not currently receiving a water bill,
as required by HCC §§ 21-31 and 21-2.
DECISION AND ORDER
Based on its consideration of the evidence and argument presented at the hearings and
under the authority of EMC Rule 7-12, Appellee’s June 10, 2021 decision to bill Appellant a
“monthly maintenance fee equal to the current monthly sewer user fee” for the structure at issue
on Appellant’s property located at 75-5944 Aliʻi Drive, Kailua-Kona, 96740 is REVERSED.
Dated: Hilo, Hawai‘i,_______________.
________
GEORJEAN ADAMS, Chairperson,
Environmental Management Commission,
County of Hawai‘i, State of Hawai‘i