HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-08-06 COH Legal Memorandum, Certificate of ServiceRENEE N. C. SCHOEN 5936
Corporation Counsel
JEAN K. CAMPBELL 7424
Deputy Corporation Counsel
Office of the Corporation Counsel
County of Hawaii
101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325
Hilo, Hawai `i 96720
Telephone: (808) 961-8251
Facsimile: (808) 961-8622
E-Mail: jeank.campbellghawaiicountygov
Attorneys for the Planning Director, County of Hawaii
Planning Department
BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
STATE OF HAWAI`I
TRADE WINDS PRODUCTIONS, INC.,
Appellant,
vs.
JEFFREY W. DARROW, PLANNING
DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I,
Appellee
and
ERIC STILES,
Landowner.
CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000128
LEGAL MEMORANDUM; CERTIFICATE
OF SERVICE
Hearin•
Date: August 14, 2026
Time: 9:30 a.m. in Hilo
APPELLEE JEFFREY W. DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR,
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I'S WITNESS LEGAL MEMORANDUM
COMES NOW Appellee JEFFREY W. DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR, COUNTY
OF HAWAI`I ("County"), by and through his attorney, Jean K. Campbell, Deputy Corporation
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Counsel, hereby submits this Legal Memorandum in the above -captioned matter. This Pleading
is submitted pursuant to the Scheduling Order dated July 8, 2026.
Factual Background
On July 24, 2025, the Planning Director approved Special Management Area (SMA) Use
Permit Assessment Application (PL-SAA-2025-000300) ("SMA Permit") authorizing filming of
a television series by Trade Winds Productions, Inc. ("Appellant"), on property located at 78-133
Ehukai Street, Kailua-Kona, adjacent to Keauhou Bay ("Property"). In the SMA Permit
application, Appellant represented that "all lighting will be directed to avoid spill into the sky
and or ocean, minimizing potential disruption to native wildlife and preserving the natural
character of the coastal environment." Filming activity was scheduled to take place at the
Property between August 5, 2025 and September 22, 2025.
On September 12, 2025, the Planning Director received community complaints alleging
that the filming operation was employing lighting which violated the conditions of the SMA
Permit issued by spilling across the Property boundary and onto the waters of Keauhou Bay,
among other complaints. See Record on Appeal ("ROA') at Pages 1-9. One complaint included
photographic evidence of the lighting on the water taken on September 3, 2025. See ROA at
Page 13. The Planning Director relied on this photographic evidence since inspectors were
unable to witness the violation during the night and issued a Notice of Violation and Order dated
September 19, 2025 ("NOVO"). See ROA at Pages 11-14. Additional violations of the SMA
Permit were alleged in the complaints but were not included in the NOVO because no evidence
was available to support the allegations. See ROA at Pages 4 [noise] and 7 [restricting access].
Appellant timely filed their appeal of the NOVO on October 10, 2025.
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Due to a clerical error, the NOVO was reissued on December 4, 2025, rescinding the
original NOVO and reissuing it alleging the same violation. See ROA at Pages 29-34. Appellant
appealed the reissued NOVO.
2. SMA Permit Provides Leizal Basis for Violation
The primary purposes of the state's SMA controls are to protect valuable resources along
shorelines against environmental degradation and to ensure that adequate public access is
maintained to the shoreline. "The legislature finds and declares that it is the state policy to
preserve, protect, and where possible, to restore the natural resources of the coastal zone of
Hawaii." [emphasis added] See HRS §205A-21. The Property is located within the SMA area
and thus requires the SMA Permit to authorize the filming operation. The SMA Permit was
issued properly to allow filming by Appellant at the Property while protecting the adjacent
coastal resources.
In order to protect the coastal resources of Keauhou Bay, the SMA Permit required that
"artificial light from exterior lighting fixtures, including, but not necessarily limited to
floodlights, up -lights or spotlights used for decorative or aesthetic purposes shall be prohibited if
the light directly illuminates, or is directed to project across property boundaries toward the
shoreline and ocean waters, except as may otherwise be permitted pursuant to Section 205A-
71(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes." Relying on the photographic evidence submitted with a
community complaint, the Director found that Appellant had violated the lighting restrictions
contained in the SMA Permit and ordered that Appellant remove and cease using all lights
projecting over the Property boundaries and shining onto the shoreline and ocean.
Relying on the evidence provided in the community complaint, the Director had
reasonable basis to find that Appellant had violated the SMA Permit and this finding was not
erroneous, did not violate the law, and was not arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or
an unwarranted exercise of discretion. The Director requests that this Board affirm the issuance
of the NOVO.
Dated: Hilo, Hawaii, August 6, 2026.
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
PLANNING DIRECTOR
By: /s/ Jean K. Campbell
JEAN K. CAMPBELL
Deputy Corporation Counsel
Its Attorney
M
BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
STATE OF HAWAI`I
TRADE WINDS PRODUCTIONS, INC., I CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000128
Appellant, BOARD OF APPEALS' CERTIFICATE OF
SERVICE
vs.
JEFFREY DARROW, PLANNING
DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I,
Appellee
and
ERIC STILES,
Landowner.
BOARD OF APPEALS' CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served
upon the parties identified below by electronic mail service pursuant to Board of Appeals Rule
3-19 on August 6, 2026:
Shawn Pila
Appellant pro se, representative for
TRADE WINDS PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Sylvia A. Wan
Deputy Corporation Counsel
Office of the Corporation Counsel
Attorney for Board ofAppeals
Eric Stiles
Landowner
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Dated: Hilo, Hawaii, August 6, 2026.
ls/ Jean K. Campbell
JEAN K. CAMPBELL
Attorney for Planning Director, County of
Hawai `i Planning Department
Trade Winds Productions, LLC., vs. Jeffrey Darrow, Planning Director, County ofHawai `i and
Eric Stiles; Case No.: PL-BOA-2026-000128; CERTIFICATE OF SERIVCE
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