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It's kind of ironic that belly acres and Kalani have formed this so called alliance,because it was Graham through the planning director(Chris Yuen) that initiated the complaint that brought to light the 40+ building code violations that got them in hot water with the county and cost them some major cash to clean up back 6-7 years ago..and made them start the special use permit process they are going through.. I think Graham was president of seaview back in 91-92 when the private road give away happened..and Sativa saying sorry is not atonement for what has been done,and you know what happens when people do not atone for their sins...retribution I believe is the word..I think you know it now!
Now it's all coming together. Kalani spokesman LJ at the emergency meeting about SB2274 said they "needed this bill (SB2274) because it has cost them to date over a million dollar to try to get legal" i.e. to get their commercial operations legal so they can move forward.
quote:
it was Graham through the planning director(Chris Yuen) that initiated the complaint that brought to light the 40+ building code violations that got them in hot water with the county and cost them some major cash to clean up back 6-7 years ago.
Does Kalani/Richard Koob know it was Graham that filed the complaint that cost them all that money?
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Again: Kalani is no more "agricultural" than SPACE or Belly Acres or Seaview.
"One of these things is not like the others..."
Again: Kalani is no more "agricultural" than SPACE or Belly Acres or Seaview.
"One of these things is not like the others..."
Then why were they working on SB2274 together?
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SB2274 is like the PCDP in that it attempts to fix the zoning problems after-the-fact.
Not only won't this work, County perpetuates the problem by pretending that it could eventually work somehow.
Seaview is de-facto residential; if it were actually zoned residential, most-if-not-all of these problems would disappear due to the usage disparity, either because the Code restricts usage near a zone-change boundary, or because Seaview would be within their rights to complain about the "agricultural uses" at Kalani and SPACE.
As an extra added bonus, the increase in property values would provide Seaview residents with adequate funding for any legal battles which might become necessary.
kalakoa, there are AG-zoned subdivisions all around the Big Island where people are living and not farming, and are driving to commercial centers. And not because they are substandard either. It's how things are here.
If you looked at the whole island instead of just Seaview, it would be obvious the County can't just rezone your neck of the woods without opening the door to all the other areas.
You should try driving around the island and looking at how far other people drive to shopping and services. For example, there's are all of three mini-marts and ONE gas station between Honoka'a and Hilo, even though there are at least a dozen long established communities. No medical services, a handful of places to eat, a few credit unions. Nothing like Pahoa.
Amazingly, by Punaweb standards, the people who live along there don't spend their time complaining about their AG zoning. Seriously, don't buy ag if it's not right for you.
The County's job is not to rezone and raise your property values. Way to shut the door to the people who want to move to an affordable part of Hawai'i.
If the land does not lack something substantial, it won't be affordable. It'll be like Maui where you pay 800K to live in a just average house in a tiny lot. Who here wants that?
Nothing wrong with trying to make your area more practical than it is right now within the limitations, but at least educate yourself on the rest of the island before complaining bitterly about dealing with the same issues other places do but at a fraction of the buy-in cost.
Kathy
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KH, I'm actually agreeing with you, albeit in a very roundabout sort of way... but the line is really wide and fuzzy.
If everything is correctly zoned ag (for any number of reasons) and everyone is fine with driving to commercial centers, then SPACE should never have been allowed, much less granted any SUP and/or extension of time to comply.
That said, these decisions should really be left to the community, with the extent of any "non-ag" or "borderline-commercial" activities negotiated as a function of that community.
SPACE did lots of good things; I'm sure most Seaview residents "didn't really mind" as long as SPACE was being a good neighbor, but soured on it once things got out of control. I think most people would be happy to have a school and a farmers' market (case in point: I miss mine) ... live music venue, not so much.
It's unfortunate that both sides felt the need to escalate their issues above and beyond County's control. This could be seen either as "abuse of the system" or as "getting the right tool for the job", but in any case, there was no real need for the State to get involved in a local land-use issue between neighbors in a community, whether by requiring County rulemaking via SB2274, or by persecuting people with a DLNR investigation.
SB2274 was an interesting idea that might have been useful elsewhere on the island; it might be better implemented as a zoning type (E for Experiment, 20-acre minimum) where the change-of-zone process would force most of the other "right things" to happen for those possibly affected. In any case we'll never know how SB2274 might have turned out, which is unfortunate, because we need to start thinking out of the box. The lava flow is a workable problem compared to a major shipping interruption or a sudden doubling in the price of gas...
I maintain that the ag zoning is incorrect for high-density subdivisions. Upzoning to proper R is probably overkill, offered more as "food for thought" -- and some people do seem to insist on their residential norms. Perhaps this should be regulated from the other way around, by limiting the scope of allowable Ag uses to a minimum lot size (a few already are, most aren't).
There's plenty of blame to go around ... but spreading it won't solve anything.
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The AG zoning employed at the time the subdivisions were created was a ploy by the county to build a tax base while at the same time minimizing the requirements for infrastructure. It worked great for the CoH for a number of decades but as the population grew the shortcomings became more apparent. It was a short term plan with long term implications.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Not sure if map has been posted before.
Big Island Video News 10/5/14 has an in-depth article, with map of the area.
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2014/1...rd-ruling/
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Compare/contrast:
KH: Law and its interpretation and enforcement are not static ... What was done in the 60's does not necessarily govern what is done now, not morally and not legally.
RT: The AG zoning employed at the time the subdivisions were created was a ploy by the county to build a tax base while at the same time minimizing the requirements for infrastructure ... It was a short term plan with long term implications.
What "was done in the 60s" directly governs "what is done now."
Unfortunately, the lack of civic planning cannot easily be retrofitted.
...and here we are today.
