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WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII,
in the State of Hawaii
with due respect for and in support of the laws of the land,
In accordance with Article XI, Section 11-1 (1) of the
CHARTER OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII
STATE OF HAWAII
Do hereby submit to the voters of the County of Hawaii the following Initiative.
(add whatever you want the citizens of the county to vote on and make it happen by a vote of the PEOPLE)
Yes SuperFerry - No SuperFerry
Yes Helicopters - No Helicopters
Yes Coqui Eradication - No Coqui Eradication
Yes Road Improvement - No Road Improvement
Yes Greater Education Funding - No Greater Education Funding
Yes Only Voter Approve Elected Official Pay Raises - No Only Voter Approve Elected Official Pay Raises
Your Wish
Your Voice
Your Vote
YOUR Choice
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Well, that covers all the black and white, but what about the shades of gray in between?
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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Anything that the county has the authority over is subject to the will of the people. Laws, projects, taxes, policy, etc.
You want another road in and out of Pahoa, file an initiative, get the required initial signatures, the County Council votes to do it or not. If they vote to do it, you got what you want. If they vote not to do it, the initiative goes to the voters for their say. If the voters say yes, you got your road.
You want to prohibit the Council from giving themselves pay raises without your approval, put it to the people...
You want zoning changes, put it to the people.
You want county real estate tax reform, put it to the people.
The County works for you, yet this provision granted by the Hawaii Sate Constitution isn't mentioned in the halls of government. The people can complain, or the people can act!
I'm curious, how many of you knew or was ever told about this?
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I feel the need....the need for....a new councilman!
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ARTICLE XII
REMOVAL OF ELECTED OFFICERS
CHAPTER 1
RECALL
Section 12-1.1. Recall Procedure. In addition to impeachment procedures, any elective officer may be removed from office by the voters of the county. The procedure to effect such removal shall be in accordance with this article.
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No, Bob. You misunderstood. I've voting for you! At present, Puna has a council woman.
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There are a lot of shades of gray in there. For example, I have taken a helicopter tour over the volcano (and I must say, my pilot definitely kept a proper distance from the ground). Would I support designation of allowed routes that minimized the noise, etc to established subdivisions? Sure. Flat-out ban? No. Do I have the skills to draft such an initiative? Well, maybe if I devoted about 3 months of my life full-time to it.
For that particular initiative, I would say
"The County of Hawaii shall appoint a commission of seven people consisting of:
1) two operators of tour helicopters
2) two employees of the County Department of Planning
3) three civilian land and/or home owners in the subdivisions closest to the volcano (i.e. Fern Forest, Ohia Estates, Eden Roc, Royal Hawaiian).
Only the Planning Department employees will be compensated for such service as a part of their regular duties.
Such Commission will, within one year, submit to the County Council, a plan of three acceptable routes and height restrictions (to allow for weather variations), agreed upon by all commission members for vote by the County Council.
Upon ratification by the County Council and the Mayor, all tour companies licensed in the County of Hawaii MUST adhere to said routes and height restrictions or face penalties to include monetary damages for first offenses and revocation of tour license upon 3 offenses in one year.
In addition, all tour companies must paint, in letters no less that 14 inches tall, an assigned company identifier and helicopter numerical designation on the bottom of each helicopter, to allow for proper identification in the event of violations."
I could go on to describe what "acceptable evidence of violation" would be, but frankly, I'll leave that up to people that know more about this than me.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
Edited by - jdirgo on 11/07/2007 11:08:55
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John that's an excellent start.
The point about the "license" is probably the strongest because that gives the county the direct control they lack. But, I can't find anything that says air tour operators are licensed. Don't know if this was a state oversight or maybe the license is under some other type of category.
Unfortunately, USC grants only the FAA the right to regulate flight. Even if the county wanted too, they are prohibited by federal law from setting anything that pertains to air operations. But, the USC does give local government the right to enter in agreements where air operations could be part of that agreement so long as it doesn’t grant right that the FAA didn’t grant. What if the license could be part of some voluntary self imposed rules? Let’ say the county by people initiative is prohibited from contracting for helicopter service unless that company has agreed and abides by this self regulating commission. You can also prohibit any county agency from flying in any helicopter for official business where the county will pay or reimburse unless that company is a signatory on the agreement. It’s monitored by that commission you suggested. They could also prohibit the use of any land under the county control for helicopter operations if they don’t agree. I’m sure with everyone’s help, we can think of other legally acceptable items to add to this agreement.
As for identification, FAA FARs is the law. It only requires 12” numbers and according to my FAA contact, can not be changed for one place without changing for the entire country. Since most air tour operators have “commercial” operation licensees they have to abide by the national laws regardless of what any local government wants. However, he said that the FAA could approve an “advertising” scheme where a unique identifier is part of the local “licensing” requirement. Just so long as it doesn’t conflict with federal law, that identified is actually part of the aircraft “advertising” scheme. Humm, it may work.
One question I was asked is if the county files complaints about aircraft issues? He said nothing in the rules require the complainant to be a resident, property owner, or a human. The county itself can be a complainant. He said most local governments have neither a policy to or policy not to be a complainant but nothing says they can’t file a complaint.
Hey, thanks for taking the time to think about this.
Glen, Been there - Done that, I'm way to much on the side of the people and not the party. Thanks anyway.
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Bob,
About a helicopter overflight petition....
Since you have obviously spent a large amount of time in this arena and have access to particular knowledge in this area, I would ask if you wouldn't mind drafting a couple of petitions for us to see and comment on, that you think might actually be effective in reducing some of the annoyances that the helicopter overflights create.
And make it snappy, will ya?
Peace & Quiet,
Dan
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Spectacular job, John. This could really work!
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