Ethics hearing against Building Department

[Rob Tucker]

Aloha Punawebbers,

I have filed two ethics complaints against the building department that will be heard at a hearing at the council chambers Tuesday morning (10/11). Show starts at 10 am and I am 3rd & 4th on the agenda.

In the ethics code there are only a couple things that offer a simple tax payer any recourse. A. everyone is to be treated in a fair and impartial manner & B. County officials are not to grant themselves "unwarranted priviledges.

The fist up for hearing is against the county engineer who took ten months to approve a client's plans. His plan checking is so inept he produced five correction letters when a plan checker is supposed to produce one. Each letter was extremely vague and, for the first time in this county, is requiring engineering calcs on single story homes- which each take months to acquire and costs thousands of dollars.

A few architects I have discussed this with tell me that the county engineering requirements are so excessive that a lanai is no longer legal on a new home. Think about that. This engineer is also changing requirements while a plan is in plan check. This problem is not unique to me.

The second concerns the B.D. making up requirements and restrictions, which are not supported in the code. Only the council can approve new code which is where my claim of them taking "unwarranted priviledges" is based. This stuff is hard to prove when they give you false information verbally at the counter. My case is different in that I did all my communications with them in writing. There is a clear paper trail.

The county has become a consistent source of bad information. Bad information affects everyone trying to live and do business in Hawaii County. The building department, with this new engineer, is making affordable housing an extinct concept. Like California it will take longer to get a permit than it takes to actually build a house.

Anyone interested in this subject might want to attend the hearing. It is a bit of a David vs. Goliath moment.

Wish me luck.

[Justin]

Good luck. Fingers crossed.

[VancouverIslander]

My experiences with the county have been limited but fairly good. The only problem I had was the length of time to approve plans, but it was at a time when everyone was talking about how bad the backlog was. Time wasn't critical for me, fortunately, so no harm no foul in my case. Your situation sounds different and here's hoping for a fair hearing and the system gets fixed so this kind of thing doesn't happen any more. Best of luck to you.

I had thought we might be in for a bit of a nightmare with an 'as built' permit, but things went surprisingly smoothly. Many thanks to Dave Holbrook for supervising the job for us, drawing up the plans, submitting them and meeting with the building inspectors throughout the process.

Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike

[terracore]

Get 'em Rob. Good luck.

[Chunkster]

Have you talked to anybody with the press about this? Shining the light of publicity beyond Punaweb might be a good idea. These characters hate having their actions aired in the light of day.

[Rob Tucker]

I am told that the local press will be at the hearing.

[alaskyn66]

... Like turning on the kitchen light and watching the cockroaches scatter.

[Kapoho Joe]

I will try to bring some popcorn

[RJHampton]

Rob, this is a perfect time to give you and others, some insight of how we ended up with such dysfunctional codes.

Former councilman Pete Hoffman introduced the International Building Codes (IBC), without amendments, which passed unanimously by the county council. When I was working as a legislative assistant to former councilwoman Emily Naeole, a constituent brought the IBC to my attention, and how it would make life difficult here in Hawaii.

I decided to research the IBC and see what was in it. The only copy was in the county office in Hilo, and I couldn't take it home, so a very good friend of mine ordered the book ($189.) After having perused the sections, I realized that the constituent was right, this wasn’t going to work in Hawaii, maybe Germany, but not Hawaii. I saw that it did not allow for single wall construction, tropical lanai building, or jalousie windows for natural ventilation, and a whole host of other requirement that would make our life miserable. Right in the beginning of the IBC it says you can adopt amendments to your particular climate zone.

So after looking at the IBC, I reported my findings and concerns back to my boss, Emily Naeole. I was instructed to write a bill delaying implementation of Pete's bill for 6 months until we could make amendments. Below is the Hawaii Tribune Herald article. Doesn't anybody remember that victory?

We were successful but unfortunately voted out of office. The next administration, Fred Blas, had no interest and the subject was never introduced again to the county council. So our six month delay expired, Pete Hoffman's bill took effect, and here we are today, six years later, with Rob in front of the ethics board, wondering why it is all so messed up.

Here is a clue how to get it un-messed. After Rob finishes with his ethics case, of which I wish you good luck, all of you that agree with Rob, need to contact your council person and insist that this is one of the most important issues we can discuss now and in 2017.
[]


Hawaii Tribune-Herald (Hilo, HI)
Bill would delay building codes
Councilwoman: New standards are costly, will hinder construction
Author: Jason Armstrong
March 28, 2010

New energy-efficiency building standards Hawaii County plans to start enforcing in May will be expensive, possibly unnecessary and may outlaw common home designs, says Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole-Beason.

She has introduced a bill that would delay implementation of the modified 2006 International Energy Conservation Code seven months until Jan. 11, 2011.

The postponement is intended to provide time to assess the law Naeole-Beason and her colleagues unanimously passed last year.

Because of the limited time until the law's effective date, her bill has been waived from committee review and is set to be considered by the full council during its April 7 meeting in Hilo, according to Naeole-Beason's staff.

The law has upset people and will make home construction unaffordable for some, she said in a statement issued Friday.

"This will have a major impact in residential construction by eliminating single-wall construction, large, open-screened windows, and many other currently common construction practices that make Hawaii housing unique and island living friendly," Naeole-Beason said in a draft e-mail she plans to send to Big Island architects.

Naeole-Beason said she doesn't want people to stop building "plantation-style" dwellings like the one in which she was raised.

"There are serious concerns about the necessity of this code for the County of Hawaii and the county's preparedness to properly enforce this code," she added in her one-page e-mail.

Naeole-Beason asks the unnamed architects to support her bill intended to "give time to do a thorough review of the new code as to its necessity, cost effectiveness, requirements, and impact on the residential lifestyles presently found in Hawaii."

She's proposing a review committee be assembled to perform the analysis.

"It is very important that local architects and mechanical engineers that will be continuously dealing with the new requirements participate in the review process, and we ask for your assistance," Naeole-Beason adds in her letter to architects.

Boone Morrison, a Volcano architect with 43 years' experience, called the proposed delay "an excellent idea" and expressed willingness to serve on a review committee.

"It's a rather one-size-fits-all document," he said of the law.

It's designed for a more-northern climate like San Francisco and would have "unintended consequences" if applied here, Morrison said.

"We have a law that was generated by people who don't understand our unique environment," he said.

For example, Morrison said his designs call for wall insulation with an "R-11" value, while the new law requires thicker, more expensive "R-19" insulation and larger wall studs to contain it.

"It's overkill," he said, noting similar energy savings can be achieved by incorporating air-flow and other natural-cooling designs into new homes.

Morrison said another provision would require window tinting, preventing sunlight from heating homes like his Volcano dwelling.

"I tell you up mauka, I'm screwed. I can't warm my home," he said.

But the law has supporters like Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, who authored it.

Noting the requirements were tailored to fit Hawaii's environment, Hoffmann said he can't understand why people feel energy-efficiency construction would cost them extra money.

"The payback on this is almost immediate," he said. "Given the amount of our energy bill, this is a huge savings for the people on the island."

Hoffmann's also puzzled at the sudden opposition and feels the initial yearlong delay in implementing the law already provided the time Naeole-Beason is seeking to study it.

"I think we're delaying savings that are very important to homeowners at this time," he said.

Putting off the building requirements also will disqualify Hawaii from competing for "green" stimulus money the federal government has been awarding, Hoffmann said.

"We have to do this or we're not going to receive any stimulus money, now or in the future, regarding energy efficiency," he added. "That's certainly another reason not to delay implementation."

E-mail Jason Armstrong at jarmstrong@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Copyright 2010 Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Stephens Media, LLC, d/b/a Hawaii Tribune-Herald, All Rights Reserved.

Record Number: 971a44d30206bdd6c199ed46eaa8ca713acec5

[leilanidude]

Rob's complaint isn't about the code - it is about the people who are supposed to be administering the code and their methods of applying the code differently to some people.

Single wall construction only makes sense in limited areas of the island and building a house to survive hurricane strength winds is smart.