HomeMy WebLinkAboutSecond Supplementary Emergency Proclamation May 30, 2018Harry Kim
Mayor
Wil Okabe
Managing Director
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawaii
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 & Hilo, Hawaii 96720 * (808) 961-8211 a Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy., Bldg. C * Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740
(808)3234444 * Fax(808)323-4440
SECOND SUPPLEMENTARY EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Chapter 127A Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, provides for the
establishment of County organizations for emergency management and disaster relief
with the Mayor having direct responsibility and authority over emergency management
within the County.
WHEREAS, Chapter 127A Hawai‘i Revised Statutes and Chapter 7, Articles 1
and 2 of the Hawai‘i County Code, establishes a Civil Defense Agency within the
County of Hawai‘i and prescribes its powers, duties, and responsibilities, and
Section 13-23 of the Hawai‘i County Charter empowers the Mayor of the County to
declare emergencies; and
WHEREAS, on May 3, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi and the
Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi issued respective Emergency Proclamations declaring
states of emergency due to active lava erupting along the East Rift Zone in Lower Puna,
County and State of Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, on May 9, 2018, the Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi issued a
Supplementary Proclamation expanding the scope and application of his Proclamation
in order to provide further emergency disaster relief by suspending additional sections
of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, on May 22, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi issued a
Supplemental Emergency Proclamation suspending Section 19-47 of the Hawaiʻi
County Code relating to real property tax assessments for parcels in Leilani Estates,
Lanipuna Gardens, Pohoiki Bay Estates or Kapoho Estates rendered uninhabitable
and/or isolated due to the active lava eruption; and
WHEREAS, the United State Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaii Volcano
Observatory (HVO), at this time cannot project an end date to this eruptive event and
continues to issue warnings; and
WHEREAS, a significant and potentially growing number of residents of Leilani
Estates, Lanipuna Gardens, Pohoiki Bay Estates, Kapoho Estates, the greater Kapoho
area, and nearby and surrounding areas have been displaced from their residences due
to the active lava eruption either permanently or for an unknown duration, as one
hundred twenty eight or more structures have already been destroyed, cut off, or
otherwise rendered at least temporarily uninhabitable by the lava eruption, the lava
eruption threatens to consume more structures, and the lava eruption has caused
emissions including gasses which along with the threatened hazard of potential lava
inundation, have caused a number of residents to voluntarily evacuate their residences;
and
WHEREAS, the significant and growing number of residents displaced and/or
voluntarily evacuated due to the active lava eruption are in need of temporary
emergency shelter; and
WHEREAS, the County of Hawaiʻi has been providing temporary emergency
shelter for a number of residents displaced and/or voluntarily evacuated due to the
active lava eruption in shelters or on sites intended for very short-term temporary use;
however, due to the growing number of displaced or voluntarily evacuated persons,
undetermined duration of the active lava eruption, and the number of residents who
have permanently lost their residences, there is an immediate and growing need to
provide temporary emergency shelters for residents displaced and/or voluntarily
evacuated due to the active lava eruption which will also be used temporarily, but are
suitable for longer-term use; and
WHEREAS, certain non-profit and/or other private entities have expressed
interest in providing longer-term temporary emergency shelters for persons displaced
and/or voluntarily evacuated due to the active lava eruption, which may require certain
site preparation and/or the construction and/or installation of structures that would
require certain reviews, approvals, and/or permits from the County of Hawaiʻi under
normal circumstances; and
WHEREAS, Section 127A-13(b)(1) Hawai‘i Revised Statute, provides that during
the emergency period, the Mayor may “[r]elieve hardship and inequities, or obstruction
to public health, safety, or welfare, found by the mayor to exist in the laws of the county
and to result from the operation of federal programs or measures taken under this
chapter, by suspending the county laws in whole or in part, or by the alleviating the
provisions of county laws on such terms and conditions as the mayor may impose...”;
and
WHEREAS, the preparation, set-up, construction, and/or installation of the
temporary emergency shelters for displaced or voluntarily evacuated residents on either
public or private lands would normally require approvals, reviews, or permits from
various County of Hawaiʻi Departments pursuant to the following Chapters of the
Hawaiʻi County Code: Chapter 5, regarding Building; Chapter 9, regarding Electricity;
Chapter 10, regarding Erosion and Sedimentation Control; Chapter 17, regarding
Plumbing; Chapter 23, regarding Subdivisions; Chapter 25, regarding Zoning; and,
Chapter 26, regarding Fire; and
WHEREAS, I find that if the Chapters of the Hawaiʻi County Code cited above
are maintained, then hardship and inequities, or obstructions to the public welfare will
befall those residents displaced or voluntarily evacuated due to this eruptive event who
are in need of temporary longer-term emergency shelter; and
WHEREAS, in order to relieve this hardship and inequity, or obstruction to public
welfare, it is necessary to suspend the above-cited provisions of the Hawaiʻi County
Code to allow for the rapid preparation, set-up, construction, and/or installation of the
longer-term temporary emergency shelters for displaced or voluntarily evacuated
residents on public lands, and certain private lands if the private landowner(s) execute a
Memorandum of Agreement with the Director of the Department of Public Works for the
County of Hawaiʻi to ensure that certain minimum guidelines are met to protect public
health and safety; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Harry Kim, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, do hereby
proclaim and declare that a state of emergency continues to exist due to threat of
imminent disaster on the Hawai‘i Island, effective 30th, May, 2018,
and continuing thereon for 60 days or until further act by this office. Notwithstanding the
termination of a disaster emergency relief period, any contracts, agreements,
procurements, programs, or employment of personnel entered into, started, or
continued by reason of the provisions of my proclamations relating to this emergency
shall continue. However, any contract entered into under this Proclamation for
providing services pursuant to this Proclamation or an associated Memorandum of
Agreement shall be limited to a period not to exceed twelve (12) months, but may be
extended for a period of six (6) months provided such extension is at no additional cost
above existing contract compensation and payment schedules.
I FURTHER ORDER, that pursuant to Section 127A-13(b)(1) Hawaiʻi Revised
Statutes, the following Chapters of the Hawaiʻi County Code are suspended to prepare,
set-up, construct, or install longer-term temporary emergency shelters for residents
displaced or who voluntarily evacuated due to the active lava eruption on either public
lands or certain private lands if the private landowner(s) have executed a Memorandum
of Agreement with the Director of the Department of Public Works for the County of
Hawaiʻi to ensure that certain minimum guidelines are met to protect public health and
safety: Chapter 5, regarding Building; Chapter 9, regarding Electricity; Chapter 10,
regarding Erosion and Sedimentation Control; Chapter 17, regarding Plumbing; Chapter
23, regarding Subdivisions; Chapter 25, regarding Zoning; and, Chapter 26, regarding
Fire.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of
the County of Hawai‘i to be affixed. Done this 30th day of May, 2018 in Hilo,
Hawai‘i.
Harry Kim
Mayor
County of Hawai‘i