10-02-2007, 01:25 PM
Bob, Hawaii County does have the Enterprise Zones, and our council woman was in the paper this morning wanting to extend the Enterprise Zone to parts of Volcano & Kawaihae
That said, If landowners or renters do not put up some money, the structures will not get fixed up.
(Part of this has to do with living in an area where structures are dashed in a moment...why would you fix it up if it could be destroyed tomorrow? Tornado Alley has many property owners with much the same mind set....added to this the past stagnation/devaluation of property, and you can see how money to upkeep could be seen as throwing it away...)
To fix up buildings is not a "California mindset", as many of the most intact well-preserved towns I have seen are on the east coast. But there has to be owner pride in the structure...I have seen where a local government tries to push a landowner to fix up a builiding for safety codes (he had, among many things, fire staircases pulling off of the wall, hanging loose,) and the owner has pushed against 'government interference'. This escalated into a battle of decades & wills....the loosers, the surrounding buildings, the renters that signed leases with this guy only to be shut down for the safety issues, the current & potential customers & the town & this guy...everyone lost out...so how to encourage a landowner/renter population without pushing them into a government issue? (I can see the same isssues here that were in in the example above from IL)
That said, If landowners or renters do not put up some money, the structures will not get fixed up.
(Part of this has to do with living in an area where structures are dashed in a moment...why would you fix it up if it could be destroyed tomorrow? Tornado Alley has many property owners with much the same mind set....added to this the past stagnation/devaluation of property, and you can see how money to upkeep could be seen as throwing it away...)
To fix up buildings is not a "California mindset", as many of the most intact well-preserved towns I have seen are on the east coast. But there has to be owner pride in the structure...I have seen where a local government tries to push a landowner to fix up a builiding for safety codes (he had, among many things, fire staircases pulling off of the wall, hanging loose,) and the owner has pushed against 'government interference'. This escalated into a battle of decades & wills....the loosers, the surrounding buildings, the renters that signed leases with this guy only to be shut down for the safety issues, the current & potential customers & the town & this guy...everyone lost out...so how to encourage a landowner/renter population without pushing them into a government issue? (I can see the same isssues here that were in in the example above from IL)