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Leilani group wants PONC to purchase Fissure 8 properties.
"Neighbors of Puna’s internationally famous “Fissure 8” want the still smoldering volcanic vent preserved for future generations, and they’re asking a county land-buying commission to purchase it using taxpayer money.
A group from neighboring Leilani Estates made a presentation Monday to the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, one of 26 presentations for properties under consideration for purchase this year."
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...onc-funds/
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03-09-2021, 04:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-09-2021, 04:51 PM by dobanion.)
Good idea. 726 properties. Sounds like every single Leilani lot that's inundated. Check my count, I'm just ballparking, but might that include Kapoho as well?
Can the county buy it, then sell it to the feds (HVNP) to recoup? It could be the Leilani unit of HVNP, like the Kahuku unit.
Can they force the owners to sell? Set the price? Emminent domain?
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That would just be the Leilani lots. I agree that it is a good idea - I cannot even imagine anyone trying to build there. It is steaming hot and gets worse when it rains. I would imagine they could be forced to sell, using "for the public good" as the reason. County could also refuse to allow building permits based upon safety reasons. Also agree that the national park should just take it over.
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03-10-2021, 02:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-10-2021, 02:30 AM by Ccat.)
(03-09-2021, 05:43 PM)leilanidude Wrote: That would just be the Leilani lots. I agree that it is a good idea - I cannot even imagine anyone trying to build there. It is steaming hot and gets worse when it rains. I would imagine they could be forced to sell, using "for the public good" as the reason. County could also refuse to allow building permits based upon safety reasons. Also agree that the national park should just take it over.
Totally agree. But local owners should get paid real $$ for their property. Not nothing. (Eminent domain would pay next to nothing.)
Ccat
(03-09-2021, 05:43 PM)leilanidude Wrote: That would just be the Leilani lots. I agree that it is a good idea - I cannot even imagine anyone trying to build there. It is steaming hot and gets worse when it rains. I would imagine they could be forced to sell, using "for the public good" as the reason. County could also refuse to allow building permits based upon safety reasons. Also agree that the national park should just take it over.
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Why not just quit issuing building permits in lava zone 1 ?
Don't need to spend millions to buy everyone out.
Can't rebuild without a building permit .
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Totally agree. But local owners should get paid real $$ for their property. Not nothing. (Eminent domain would pay next to nothing.)
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Eminent Domain (as well as the County PONC has to pay appraised valuation. Most of the lots (that did not have homes on them) were valued by County around $15k which is what they tended to sell for.
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Why not just quit issuing building permits in lava zone 1 ?
Removing development rights is an unconstitutional "taking" for which County could expect to be sued.
Can't rebuild without a building permit .
It's possible to rebuild without permission from lenders or County. I recently toured Leilani and was (not) surprised to see brand-new construction on what is now a dead-end street. House was almost finished. Some people want to live there, others can't afford to live somewhere else. Are we going to take all their homes?
There was some discussion around creating a new subdivision for people who lost their homes to lava, but (act surprised) that subdivision would "avoid the mistakes of the past" because it would be built with full infrastructure -- if that means nobody can afford to live there, it's not much of a "replacement", is it?
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"avoid the mistakes of the past" because it would be built with full infrastructure -- if that means nobody can afford to live there,
They could call DHHL for pointers on how to set up a 100 year waiting list.
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(03-10-2021, 05:13 PM)kalakoa Wrote: Removing development rights is an unconstitutional "taking" for which County could expect to be sued.
I love the sound bite, but still...
The rezoning of portions of land is a constant. There is nothing about the development rights attached to one classification of land that is inherited when that land is reclassified, unless so stipulated. Sure, you can sue, but shouldn't expect anything to come out of the exercise other than a bill from your lawyer.
That's why the initial Kalapana Extension of HVNP failed. The folks down that side didn't like the idea of giving up their land use rights.
The reevaluation of our zoning laws in regards to lava zones is long overdue. It is now obvious that our one size fits all policies do not serve us as well as we would hope. If this wasn't clear when Pele repaved Kapoho, it sure became glaringly clear in the halls of government when Harry asked state to cough up 850 million to "reimburse" us for the folly of not being prepared for our volcanic hazards.
And now that they have proven themselves untenable, I suspect the days of our one size fits all policies are passing..
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I'm fine with people choosing to keep their property or even rebuild in the rift zone, but just like properties in known flood zones they shouldn't be bailed out more than once. Let the park buy out everyone willing to sell.
