HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunication No. 2023-06 Andy Huebner Re Code UpdateCommunication No. 2023-06
Aloha,
My name is Andy Huebner and I am writing this letter on my behalf. I am a local (hapa) boy raised in Kailua, O'ahu but have been coming to Kona since my parents moved here in the late '80's and have been a full time resident here in Kona since 2004. I moved here because Kailua became overcrowded and wanted a different pace of life. Kona, however, has become much like Kailua was
(and is worse now) back in the early 2000's. With these public hearings and a need to re-examine and change the current zoning laws, Kona is now at a crossroads! Do we move forward as is or do we reel things in and keep Kona...Kona! To explore why we need zoning change or rather better policing, for lack of a better term, we need to dive a little deeper and explore some socioeconomic impacts that these policies have and can
have going forth. We as a community started to see a huge change post Covid. The Real Estate market went to places we have never experienced as far as prices. These prices have a direct impact on local people being able to stay (housing, land) and afford to stay (cost of living) here in the islands. It also has an affect down stream on people that cannot afford the cost of living hence an upswing of homelessness, domestic violence and mental issues. Conversely we have seen a huge influx of
mainlanders snap up properties as well as developers taking advantage of opportune times. Now we to deal with having the infrastructure to support Kona's growing population as well. Where am I going with this...the Hokuli'a Problem! In the late '90's Hokuli'a started to emerge as a subdivision development that was zoned Agricultural with “Gentlemen's Estate” CC&R's, golf courses, club houses and other amenities. Agricultural! Fast forward to finally having the means for
myself to buy some land to build and farm here in Kona. Unfortunately post Covid this became virtually impossible because the majority of locals became priced out of the Real Estate market. I finally was able to purchase a piece of land that had been sitting idle (no one saw it for what it would become because it had an archaeological easement on it (burial)) in a Subdivision up in Holualoa. Unfortunately it has a quite extensive list of CCR's, a Board of Directors, a Design Review Committee,
and a fairly decent amount of HOA dues every month! The Hokuli'a problem! My goal is to farm this land with coffee and other crops because it's agricultural land. In fact the Archaeological site on my property has been documented as a “pristine example of a Kona Upland agricultural site.” Yet I am obliged to build a minimum of 1800 sqft of “living space” as well as a 2 car garage. There are rules to what is allowable and what is not. Loose chickens are not! But a “farm dwelling” of minimum 1800
sqft of living space plus a 2 car garage is! This also increases tax rates because house values have skyrocketed and the bigger the square footage the more the house is worth. Looking around my subdivision I see 2 properties with coffee growing, the others have the obligatory cow which keeps it Ag land! The current zoning laws are a farce, transforming the upland farming community, the very essence of what we are trying to promote, sustainability on an island, into a patch work of “gentlemen's
farms.” If we don't better define or rather enforce these Ag lands then we are headed for real trouble and losing what the essence of Kona is about which again, is Kona, not some mainland enclave! If we want to maintain an agricultural community, if we want to make it sustainable to be a farmer, if we want to keep our local population and make it economically sustainable to live here, we need to re-establish boundaries for what is acceptable and what is possible for the future in Kona. This starts with
reestablishing proper zoning laws and the enforcement of such laws, not an interpretation which leads to rampant over-development and an unattainable economic outcome for locals. Everything is Everything by which I mean the decisions you guys make here with zoning laws, in my case agriculture, can and will have profound effects. The question is, will these effects affect the proverbial up or down the stream, the “Gentlemen” or locals!?
Mahalo, Andy Huebner