code enforcement circus comes to Ranchos

[Kapoho Joe]

First of all, I find it odd that you would equate subdivisions of pallet shacks in Ka'u with Uncle Roberts property in Puna.

Let's just put aside the elephant in the room that is the ambiguity of Native Hawaiian rights and sovereignty (btw Uncle Sam the tobacco man benefitted from similar ambiguity).

If the issue is that some subdivisions should be exempt from the building codes and the associated property taxes and some should not be exempt, then the question is on how earth would you implement such a program?

The real question here is can some people be required to follow the codes and laws and pay the associated property taxes when the assessor comes to visit while their next door neighbors are using a pit toilet and camping in a rickety shanty town?

The easy answer is to make sure you purchase your home in a subdivision with CCRs and then you have a built in defense against people who think rural Hawaii in 2015 is like rural Alaska in 1965.

[Seeb]

I think in this case it's more about zoning and building departments use as a weapon in harassment by proxy, like SWATing. Complaint driven enforcement is not Uniform Enforcement, and is Very poor policy.

[terracore]

I'm not condoning what this person did but maybe the motivation was to hand it to the county and let them sort it out rather than continuing to subsidize his neighbor's property tax. If they need financial assistance there are avenues for that. Purposely withholding property tax by circumventing the procedures that assess it is called tax evasion.

I've never heard of anybody appealing their land-only property tax bill by showing up and saying in all fairness the county needs to levy additional taxes on them to account for the value of their unpermitted dwellings. There are two issues at play here, one is building codes and the other is taxes.

We'll never know if this person is upset because somebody is taking a dump on the ground rather than into a hole in the ground, or if its because their unpermitted neighbor is driving a Mercedes. Some people live the unpermitted nightmare, others are living the unpermitted dream.

[kalakoa]

equate subdivisions of pallet shacks in Ka'u with Uncle Roberts property in Puna

Rules are for everyone. I don't see any County Code section that abdicates enforcement for a specific ethnic or religious group, nor would such an exemption withstand legal challenge.

appealing their land-only property tax bill by showing up and saying in all fairness the county needs to levy additional taxes on them to account for the value of their unpermitted dwellings

County is perfectly willing to grant resident homeowners' exemption to unpermitted dwellings, in which case the building is valuated for tax purposes -- even if the exemption exceeds the assessed value.

zoning and building departments use as a weapon in harassment by proxy

Exactly what's going on. I don't consider proxy wars to be an appropriate use of my tax dollars, nor is "selective" enforcement fair to anyone involved.

As noted above (and elsewhere), County already has the expensive tools necessary to detect unpermitted construction. If the rules are truly "for everyone", then they should be applied equally to everybody, or nobody.

[kalakoa]

Purposely withholding property tax by circumventing the procedures that assess it is called tax evasion.

What is it, then, to be taxed for services that are not provided?

Would it be more "fair" if unpermitted situations were taxed based on the median valuation for that subdivision?

[pahoated]

Permit violations in Ocean View? The term low hanging fruit comes to mind. It's understandable from the permitted homeowners view, what does it benefit them to ignore ghettofication.

Malihini. Malihini meltdowns everywhere.

"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"

[pbmaise]

One big reason I am in Palawan the Philippines is much of this place is still exactly what old Hawaii used to be.

Recall the lament "I want to go back to my little grass shack"?

Well you cant on the Big Island of Hawaii. Despite being the most rural island with all the reasons why a grass shack is all you need, you are forced to live an artificial life.

www.top-destination-choice-the-philippines.com/images/2-the-philippines-ang-bahay-kubo.jpg

There is no house more incredible than a bamboo house with nape palm roof. You have to see them to appreciate them.

Nothing, and I mean nothing from modern man.

A home with a slat floor, no glass windows, no tile, no nails, no metal, no paint, no plumbing, no water, no lights, no electric, no bed, no furniture, and no kitchen sink.

The feeling is of peace and beauty. It is an ultimate luxury.

Obviously it is possible to live very rewarding life in a rural location in housing of this standard. The wealthy flock to these places to experience this living standard.

The question comes down to aloha. As long as human waste, garbage, and noise are not disturbing your neighbor, effecting ground water, or poisoning the air, then you are a good neighbor.

There is no reason a $10 million dollar homeowner cannot enjoy a view looking out upon a little grass shack that is kept up in good condition.

Likely that $10 million dollar home with manicured lawn and pool is doing far more harm to the environment and ground water. It depends on chemicals and pesticides to keep it looking artificial.

[leilaniguy]

[quote]Originally posted by terracore


I've never heard of anybody appealing their land-only property tax bill by showing up and saying in all fairness the county needs to levy additional taxes on them to account for the value of their unpermitted dwellings.
/quote] I know of two people who have done just that, both in Blacksands. One old guy had somebody warn him about "no permits" so he called the county, who came out and said so, what do you want us to do? They ended up calling his homestead "a shed, 16 x 16" and taxed him thus. The other guy had 2 lots, with an illegal shed with a tent on it, and when prices went nuts in 2005-06 his taxes went nuts. He applied for a permit as a shed, then got it designated as his homestead. Since the value was under the amount of a homestead, his taxes are now 0. BTW # 1 is dead, #2 doesn't even have a car.

[geochem]

quote:

---

Originally posted by kalakoa


Rules are for everyone. I don't see any County Code section that abdicates enforcement for a specific ethnic or religious group, nor would such an exemption withstand legal challenge.

.....

zoning and building departments use as a weapon in harassment by proxy

Exactly what's going on. I don't consider proxy wars to be an appropriate use of my tax dollars, nor is "selective" enforcement fair to anyone involved.

---

Not to shock anyone unduly, but Hawaii's statutes have dozens or hundreds of laws and administrative rules that are seldom enforced. "Selective enforcement" is the only kind of enforcement that there is in Hawaii - the attitude of the regulatory agencies is that you can pretty much do what you want, but if someone complains, we will enforce to the hilt. If they were to diligently enforce every law on the books, none of us would escape fines and jail time - and all economic activity would come to a halt.

It's not really the agencies' fault - all of our elected leaders, at the behest of so many of our do-gooder neighbors, put in thousands of bills each legislative session and, ultimately, some of them get passed each year. At the same time, they refuse to increment the funding to the regulatory agencies to actually enforce these thousands of laws and administrative rules.

I call it regulatory roulette...

But, hey, it's how we maintain a compliant population and a subservient business community.

[Guest]

If I remember correctly (a big if) there was a move awhile back by a commercial interest who bought up a tranche of lots in the Ranchos and install photovoltaic panels on them to generate electricity for the community. The usual uneducated hippies and cranks lawyered up and fought the proposal to the point that it faded away. Among other reasons given by these technical experts for opposing the project was that the silicon solar panels might catch fire and the fire might spread over a mile of bare lava to inhabited areas.

Until you have a government that actually governs here, it is impossible to do real business in this state. Someone learned how to play the game and is simply screwing over the people who screwed them over. Tit for tat.

---------------------------

You can't fix Samsara.