Tomorrow will be a historic day for Kauai. The Kauai County Council will be discussing two bills in their Planning Committee, under the direction of Planning Committee Chair Jay Furfaro. The two bills, 2298 and 2319 are described below:
Bill No. 2298 A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 8, KAUA'I COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE AND SINGLE-FAMILY TRANSIENT VACATION RENTALS
(Deferred 9/16/2009)
Bill No. 2319 A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 8,
KAUA'I COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE (Amending Article 27, Chapter 8, Kaua'i County Code 1987, relating to Shoreline Setbacks and Coastal Protection)
(Deferred 9/16/2009)
Bill 2298 will allow transient vacation rentals on lands that are zoned agriculture. This is a flawed bill as the State law clearly prohibits overnight accommodations on agriculture lands.
Bill 2319 will exempt certain projects from the State's MANDATORY shoreline certification process. Like Bill 2298, this is a flawed bill because the State MANDATES that a certified shoreline be completed whenever construction occurs near the shoreline.
Tomorrow we will find out where our Councilmembers stand on the issues of preservation of natural resources and the protection of ag lands. What is disturbing is the fact that we are entertaining these bills. They VIOLATE State law. These bills should be killed in the Planning Committee tomorrow. The County does not have the authority to circumvent State law. This is a bad precedent to set. Kauai is special. Let's join together to protect her. Please let your legislators know how you feel. This is vital to our culture.
They amended the shoreline setback bill and then passed it, and deferred the AG TVR bill for a month. I'm ready to erect my seawall now, thanks council!!
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised? I think we saw this coming. Everything comes down to money. They sold out, except for Kaipo. Mahalo Mr. Asing for speaking for the people.
ReplyDeleteDo they think that its in the public interest to put development too close to the ocean? Do they think that erosion only happens on private property. Wow, WTF, Nice example county. Read bikepath when you read the changes
ReplyDeleteWell, they passed the shoreline bill out of committee and deferred the TVR on ag land bill for a month. I will be asking the Attorney General to look at the language of the bills for legality. Although the new language offers some protection, it does allow for construction on the shoreline without a certified shoreline. I will be recommending some additional amendments to Councilman Kawakami but I think that it's a done deal. Only Kaipo sees it as I do. Why should the County have a different standard than the people? I guess we will see what happens on Wednesday.
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