HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/24/2018 Council minutes COUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 24, 2018
The Council Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i was called to order
by Council Chair Mel Rapozo at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201,
Lihu`e, Kauai, on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 8:31 a.m., after which the
following Members answered the call of the roll:
Honorable Arthur Brun (present at 8:42 a.m.)
Honorable Mason K. Chock
Honorable Ross Kagawa
Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro
Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami
Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura (present at 8:34 a.m.)
Honorable Mel Rapozo
APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
Councilmember Kawakami moved for approval of the agenda as circulated,
seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion for approval of the agenda as circulated was then put, and carried
by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmember Brun and Councilmember Yukimura were
excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
MINUTES of the following meetings of the Council:
December 6, 2017 Council Meeting
December 6, 2017 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2673 and Bill No. 2674
January 10, 2018 Public Hearing re: Bill No. 2677
Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to approve the Minutes as circulated,
seconded by Councilmember Kagawa.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
COUNCIL MEETING 2 JANUARY 24, 2018
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion to approve the Minutes as circulated was then put, and carried by
a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmember Brun and Councilmember Yukimura were
excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
C 2018-17 Communication (12/06/2017) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration and confirmation, Mayoral appointee Dean A. Toyofuku to the
Board of Ethics — Term ending 12/31/2020.
C 2018-18 Communication (01/04/2018) from Councilmember Kaneshiro,
providing written disclosure of a possible conflict of interest and recusal regarding
C 2018-16, a License Agreement between the County of Kaua`i and Grove Farm
Company, Inc., for the 800 MHz radio site located at Tax Map Key (TMK)
No. (4) 3-8-002-005, Kalepa Ridge, Kaua`i, Hawai`i, for emergency communications
for the County of Kaua`i, as he is employed by Grove Farm Company, Inc.
C 2018-19 Communication (01/05/2018) from Council Vice Chair Kagawa,
transmitting for Council consideration, a Resolution Proposing A Charter
Amendment Relating To Term Limits For Councilmembers.
C 2018-20 Communication (01/12/2018) from the Mayor, transmitting for
Council consideration, a Resolution Inviting The City Of Davao, Republic Of The
Philippines, To Enter Into A Sister-City Relationship With The County Of Kaua`i,
State Of Hawai`i, United States of America.
JADE K. FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA, County Clerk: Chair, we have a
registered speaker for C 2018-19.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Let us receive the other items and take
C 2018-19 off of the Consent Calendar.
Councilmember Kagawa moved to receive C 2018-17, C 2018-18, and
C 2018-20 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro, and carried
by a vote of 5:0:2 (Councilmember Brun and Councilmember Yukimura were
excused).
There being no objections, C 2018-19 was taken off of the Consent Calendar.
Council Chair Rapozo: Who is the speaker?
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Ken Taylor.
COUNCIL MEETING 3 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Ken, did you want to speak on the Resolution?
I will suspend the rules.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
(Councilmember Brun was noted as present.)
KEN TAYLOR: Good morning, Chair and Members of the
Council. Ken Taylor. I am totally opposed to putting this back on the ballot. You
were all elected under the current conditions and none of you are so important that
the County cannot do without you. They did without you before you served on the
Council. I think it is self-serving for you to put this on the ballot at this time. If you
are so inclined, you should have first asked the Charter Review Commission to
consider doing it. Not too long ago, we put the term limits in place and it is just now
starting to kick in and I think we should give it some time to see. If any of you feel
so inclined to run again after your eight (8) years, you can come back after a two-year
hiatus and run for another eight (8) years. The whole purpose of having term limits
is to open up seats for new people and new ideas from the community and they can
step up and have an opportunity. They may even be smarter and more inclined to do
the right thing for the community than any of you. I would recommend a "no" vote
on this at this time. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, I will
call the meeting back to order. If you can just insert those comments into the item.
Next item, please.
There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
The motion to receive C 2018-19 for the record was then put, and carried by a
vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Yukimura was excused).
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: We are on page 2, Communications.
COMMUNICATIONS:
C 2018-21 Communication (01/03/2018) from the Director of Economic
Development, requesting Council approval, to apply for, receive, and expend funds,
in the amount of $70,000.00, and indemnify the Hawai`i Tourism Authority, to
provide technical assistance for the revised Community Enrichment Program (CEP),
the Aloha `Aina Program, and the Kukulu Ola Program, to include, but not be limited
to, technical and non-substantive guidance for Kaua`i's applicants wanting to respond
to a Request for Proposals (RFP); assist in the promotion of the programs; identify
and recruit new applicants; provide a work plan for evaluation of the programs
including timelines; provide final evaluations for each event or project and provide
monthly evaluation reports; and complete final reports: Councilmember Kagawa
moved to approve C 2018-21, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
COUNCIL MEETING 4 JANUARY 24, 2018
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion to approve C 2018-21 was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1
(Councilmember Yukimura was excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
C 2018-22 Communication (01/04/2018) from the Chief of Police, requesting
Council approval, to accept non-recurring, no-match grant funds from the Hawai`i
State Attorney General's Office, Hawai`i Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC), in
the amount of$36,670.00, to compensate the County for the following expenses:
• Scanning and digitizing backlogged firearms documents in the
Record Management System (RMS);
• Implementing customized data elements into the RMS to
capture required state and county firearms information and
convert firearms records from the legal RMS into the current
RMS including developing a Statewide Firearms Registration
form and delivering that information electronically; and
• Procuring a server to enable the implementation of a two-way
interface between the Kaua`i Police Department's RMS and
the Hawai`i Integrated Justice Information Sharing (HIJIS)
Program to facilitate the sharing of Kaua`i County's firearms
information with the entire state.
Councilmember Kagawa moved to approve C 2018-22, seconded by
Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion to approve C 2018-22 was then put, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1
(Councilmember Yukimura was excused).
C 2018-23 Communication (01/04/2018) from the Director of Finance,
requesting Council approval of the indemnification provisions contained within
Equipment Lease Agreement No. 2951 and the County of Kaua`i Equipment Lease
Rider documents made between the County of Kaua`i and Bank of Hawai`i, to rent
various equipment: Councilmember Kagawa moved to approve C 2018-23, seconded
by Councilmember Brun.
COUNCIL MEETING 5 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Mauna Kea, can I ask you for an explanation
on this? I will suspend the rules. Obviously, that is a large legal document and I am
confused as to, "These documents are required or needed to rent various equipment."
Can you just help me, in layman's terms; what are we trying to do? I do not remember
approving any kind of blanket lease agreement like this.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
MAUNA KEA TRASK, County Attorney: For the record, Mauna Kea
Trask, County Attorney. For the equipment leases, I cannot speak to the need of the
equipment or what it is going to be used for or anything like that; that is the
Department's side of it. The reason why it is before this Council is because there is
contained a template indemnification provision. As the Council knows, part of the
purse strings in dealing with liability, indemnity, and everything like that. In order
to enter into this contract, our opinion was that, "You have to get approval from the
Council for that indemnification provision. If the Council does not approve it, then
we cannot enter into it."
(Councilmember Kagawa was noted as not present.)
Council Chair Rapozo: The indemnification is the not concern. I
guess my concern is, does this take away our ability or authority to review leases of
various equipment going forward? This seems like a blanket lease saying, "Okay,
now we are giving the Administration the authorization to get leases from Bank of
Hawaii" I do not understand what the various equipment is.
Mr. Trask: That would have to be a question for the
Department.
Council Chair Rapozo: I see that they are not here.
Mr. Trask: It would go through budgetary process and
they were supposed to line this all out, but...
Council Chair Rapozo: I am not even going to ask for them to be
here...I get tired of asking for them to be here at 8:30 a.m. They have items on here
that they want approved. I am just going to ask that we refer this to the Budget &
Finance Committee. I am not going to waste more time. If they want something
passed, they should be here. I am tired of saying that week after week, after week.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to refer C 2018-23 to the January 31, 2018
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
COUNCIL MEETING 6 JANUARY 24, 2018
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion to refer C 2018-23 to the January 31, 2018 Budget & Finance
Committee Meeting was then put, and carried by a vote of 6*:0:1
(*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai,
Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded
as an affirmative vote for the motion; Councilmember Yukimura was excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, we are on page 3.
C 2018-24 Communication (01/10/2018) from Michael A. Dahilig, Clerk of
the Planning Commission, transmitting the Planning Commission's recommendation
to amend Chapter 8, Kaua`i County Code 1987, as amended, to allow for construction
of Additional Rental Units within the Residential Zoning District: Councilmember
Kaneshiro moved to receive C 2018-24 for the record, seconded by Councilmember
Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
Mr. Hart. The rules are suspended.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
BRUCE HART: For the record, Bruce Hart. As I understand
it, this is going to allow units up to eight hundred (800) square feet to be built in areas
where it is not currently zoned. They are going to change the zoning. Essentially,
they are going to build this eight hundred (800) square foot unit in people's backyards.
I am also given to understand that fifty percent (50%) of the open space of the lot has
to remain. I wonder if you folks have thought this through—first, as I read it, there
is going to be one (1) parking space required that is off-street and one (1) is not
enough. An eight hundred (800) square foot house can contain three (3) bedrooms.
It is just unrealistic to suppose that some persons are not going to rent out all
three (3) bedrooms and you are going to have more cars. Where are those cars going
to park? Then you are going to have visitors and where are they going to park? In
all of the discussions that I listened to on this with the webcast, nobody talked about
the increase in noise and we have a parking problem when we have a noise problem.
This Council has yet, in all of the time that I have been visiting and speaking, to
address our noise issue and we just recently got through addressing the parking
issue. We had to change the law, so it is the lane of travel. We all know we have a
parking issue and this Bill, as it is written and as it is proposed, is going to add to the
parking and noise problems. There is also another aspect of it that I am very
concerned about—I am really disappointed not to see people here, because it makes
me think that maybe they just do not care, and it is not going to impact me wherever
I live, but it is going to impact other people. What I am saying is that suppose that
you bought into a neighborhood five (5) years ago or ten (10) years ago, when you
bought into this neighborhood, you would expect the neighborhood to remain as you
COUNCIL MEETING 7 JANUARY 24, 2018
bought into. You think, "Okay, so my view from my kitchen window is going to be my
view as long as I live here and now my view is this eight hundred (800) square foot
unit." This proposal will impact people's lives and it will change the character of the
neighborhoods, which I think in a detrimental way. Do I have another three (3)
minutes?
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there anyone else wishing to testify?
Seeing none, go ahead.
(Councilmember Yukimura was noted as present.)
Mr. Hart: I have a couple of proposals. The parking
problem is really a problem, as it has been pointed out in Bill No. 2673, which you
just passed. It is only going to get worse, especially if we implement this kind of
proposal when we have a parking problem. I have a friend who has a brother that
lived in Jamaica and they had a similar problem. What the Council did was pass law
that basically said that you can own all of the vehicles that you desire, but when you
go to register each one of them, you have to prove legal off-street parking. The other
is the noise ordinance. How about, "Any person or persons who causes a noise, so as
to create a nuisance, is in violation"? Just keep it simple. It is just that I have a
concern that we need if we are going to increase density, which I am not really for
increasing density—I think there are other options that we can pursue to address the
housing problem, which I admit that we have a really serious housing problem. But
I do not think increasing density and changing the character of neighborhoods that
are already established and people purchased into expecting that it would remain
basically the same as they purchased into. I do not think that is the way to go. I do
not think it is innovative, creative, or new. That is my perspective. Again as I said,
I would like to say to the Kaua`i community that I do not know where the people are
out there that this is going to impact...maybe they just do not know this is happening,
but it is a real disappointment to come in here and none of these people are here. I
have to say that maybe they do not care. I thank the Council. Thank you, Chair.
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone wishing to testify? Seeing none, I will
call the meeting back to order. Just for the public's information, today is just the first
reading of the Bill. The public hearing will be set for February 21st. This is just the
first step in a pretty long process.
There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
The motion to receive C 2018-24 for the record was then put, and unanimously
carried.
C 2018-25 Communication (01/12/2018) from Councilmember Brun,
transmitting for Council consideration, a Bill For An Ordinance To Amend Chapter 8,
Section 8-2.1(A) And Section 8-4.2(A), And Chapter 10, Section 10-5a.7(A), Kauai
County Code 1987, As Amended, Relating To The Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance
And Lihu`e Town Core Urban Design District, to allow additional density of housing
units within the Special Planning Area "D" ("SPA-D"), also known as the "Rice Street
COUNCIL MEETING 8 JANUARY 24, 2018
Neighborhood Design District", included in the Lihu`e Town Core Urban Design
District, by increasing the upper limit of the Residential Zoning designation for the
Rice Street Neighborhood Design District from R-20 to R-40: Councilmember
Kaneshiro moved to receive C 2018-25 for the record, seconded by Councilmember
Brun.
(Councilmember Kawakami was noted as recused from C 2018-25.)
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: Can we ask questions now?
Council Chair Rapozo: If they are here.
Councilmember Yukimura: I hope they are here.
Councilmember Kaneshiro: We are only on the communication also.
Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. If we call them up now, then when we
get to the Bill, we will just pass the Bill through, but if you want to have the
discussion, we can do it now.
Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: I will suspend the rules.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
KAAINA HULL, Deputy Planning Director: Good morning, Chair and
Members of the Council. Ka`aina Hull, on behalf of the Planning Department.
Councilmember Yukimura: Ka`aina, do you have a map of the Lihu`e area
that would be affected?
Mr. Hull: We can get that for you. I do not have that
specifically on me right now, but we can transmit that over to you folks.
Councilmember Yukimura: Can you get it before we get to the ordinance
so that at least people will know before the public hearing?
Mr. Hull: I can make a call over to the office for
somebody to run it over.
Councilmember Yukimura: Okay.
Council Chair Rapozo: Let us save the discussion for them. I do not
want to have a long discussion here and have it again at the Bill. We will just have
COUNCIL MEETING 9 JANUARY 24, 2018
everything ready for the Bill. If you have any other request for them before the Bill,
why do you not state that now so we can just do it all at one time?
Councilmember Yukimura: I want to know what is the rationale for doing
this and whether you have photos of R-40 that can show what it looks like. I know
during the General Plan Update and even the South Kaua`i and Lihu`e Plans that
you have shown different options to help people understand. I am gathering that it
is not a high-rise, R-40; it is forty (40) units per acre, right?
Mr. Hull: Yes.
Councilmember Yukimura: What would that look like? I do not know if
you have that now.
Mr. Hull: I am not going to be able to get that in the
near future. I can state for the record that the complex on Rice Street right
now...forgive me, I cannot think of the name.
Council Chair Rapozo: Lihu`e Townhouse?
Councilmember Brun: Lihu`e Courts...
Mr. Hull: Lihu`e Court Townhomes. It was a built at a
density of roughly R-70. So there already is an existing one that has about
seventy (70) units per acre.
Councilmember Yukimura: R-7?
Mr. Hull: R-70.
Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. That is helpful. Basically, the area
that you are talking about and the rationale for doing it, so how it would make Rice
Street look like. Thank you.
Mr. Hull: Thanks.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you very much. I will call the meeting
back to order. Further discussion?
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion to receive C 2018-25 for the record was then put, and carried by a
vote of 6*:0:0:1 (*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the
County of Kauai, Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but
shall be recorded as an affirmative vote for the motion; Councilmember
Kawakami was recused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
COUNCIL MEETING 10 JANUARY 24, 2018
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, the next item is C 2018-26. We have
an accompanying Executive Session, ES-938.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. I just want to make sure that there is
no one in the audience wishing to testify on C 2018-26, which is related to the
Executive Session item on the case relating to Michael Kocher. We will move that to
the end of the agenda. Next item.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: The next item are your Committee Reports.
There being no objections, the Committee Reports were taken out of order.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
PUBLIC WORKS / PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE:
A report (No. CR-PWPR 2018-01) submitted by the Public Works / Parks &
Recreation Committee, recommending that the following be Received for the Record:
"PWPR 2018-02 — Communication (01/10/2018) from Council Chair
Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Director of Parks & Recreation, to
provide an update regarding the Department of Parks & Recreation's Fiscal
Year 2018 priorities and the repair and maintenance program,"
Councilmember Kaneshiro moved for approval of the report, seconded by
Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion for approval of the report was then put, and carried by a vote of
6*:0:1 (*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of
Kaua`i, Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be
recorded as an affirmative vote for the motion; Councilmember Kawakami was
excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please.
BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE:
A report (No. CR-BF 2018-02) submitted by the Budget & Finance Committee,
recommending that the following be Received for the Record:
COUNCIL MEETING 11 JANUARY 24, 2018
"BF 2018-01 — Communication (12/28/2017) from Council Vice Chair
Kagawa, requesting the presence of the Director of Finance and Assistant
Chief Procurement Officer / Budget Chief, to provide a briefing on Finding
No. 2017-001 of the Management Advisory Report for the Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2017 and the County's Corrective Action Plan to improve internal
controls over pCard purchases based on the audit finding,"
Councilmember Brun moved for approval of the report, seconded by
Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion for approval of the report was then put, and carried by a vote of
6*:0:1 (*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of
Kaua`i, Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be
recorded as an affirmative vote for the motion; Councilmember Kawakami was
excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE:
A report (No. CR-COW 2018-01) submitted by the Committee of the Whole,
recommending that the following be Approved as Amended on second and final
reading:
"Bill No. 2677 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR BARGAINING UNIT 12
BETWEEN JULY 1, 2017 AND JUNE 30, 2021,"
Councilmember Brun moved for approval of the report, seconded by
Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion for approval of the report was then put, and carried by a vote of
6*:0:1 (*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of
Kaua`i, Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be
COUNCIL MEETING 12 JANUARY 24, 2018
recorded as an affirmative vote for the motion; Councilmember Kawakami was
excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Chair, we are on page 4, Resolutions.
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolution No. 2018-02 — RESOLUTION CONFIRMING MAYORAL
APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS (Dean A. Toyofuku): Councilmember
Brun moved for adoption of Resolution No. 2018-02, seconded by Councilmember
Yukimura.
Council Chair Rapozo: Is there any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2018-02 was then put, and carried
by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 6*,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: Kawakami TOTAL — 1,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
(*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kaua`i,
Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an
affirmative vote for the motion.)
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
(Councilmember Kawakami was noted as present.)
Resolution No. 2018-03 — RESOLUTION PROPOSING A CHARTER
AMENDMENT RELATING TO TERM LIMITS FOR COUNCILMEMBERS
Council Chair Rapozo: Somebody might want to get Councilmember
Kagawa to come back in because this is his Resolution.
Councilmember Kaneshiro moved that Resolution No. 2018-03 be ordered to
print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for February 21, 2018, and
referred to the March 14, 2018 Council Meeting.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Any discussion or public
COUNCIL MEETING 13 JANUARY 24, 2018
testimony? If not, roll call.
The motion that Resolution No. 2018-03 be ordered to print, that a public
hearing thereon be scheduled for February 21, 2018, and referred to the
March 14, 2018 Council Meeting was then put, and carried by the following
vote:
FOR MOTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7*,
AGAINST MOTION: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
(*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kauai,
Councilmember Kagawa was noted as silent (not present), but shall be recorded as an
affirmative vote for the motion.)
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next item, please.
Resolution No. 2018-04 — RESOLUTION INVITING THE CITY OF DAVAO,
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, TO ENTER INTO A SISTER-CITY
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA: Councilmember Kaneshiro moved for adoption of
Resolution No. 2018-04, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony? Do we
have the Administration here to explain this Resolution? With that, I will suspend
the rules. Wally, thank you for being here. I did not know that this was coming up.
I obviously received the communication, but the Mayor and I did spend some time in
Davao last year and we discussed the possibility, but I think this Council needs to
know the plans going forward and the economic relationship.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
WALLACE G. REZENTES, JR., Managing Director: You probably know
more than me...
Council Chair Rapozo: Which is not much.
Mr. Rezentes: You went there last time. Basically, my
understanding is that it was a follow-up from last year's visit. There has been a lot
of communication back and forth with different community leaders and Philippine
community leaders here. They have coordinated a recent trip to the Philippines and
I believe there were some folks from the Philippines that have come to Kaua`i and
were hosted and toured some businesses. I understand that there will be a few
community members going up with the Mayor to Davao, as well as the President of
Kauai Coffee Company, who developed a relationship on Kaua`i with some of the
folks from the Philippines. It was a following through with what was started back in
2017 and further correspondence between Davao, the County, and various Filipino
COUNCIL MEETING 14 JANUARY 24, 2018
community members on Kaua`i, as well as Mr. Daryl Kaneshiro, who has been helping
to spearhead the effort as well.
Council Chair Rapozo: Arryl?
Mr. Rezentes: Daryl.
Council Chair Rapozo: Has the Council been part of this at all?
Mr. Rezentes: I am not sure.
Council Chair Rapozo: I guess I am asking the Councilmembers,
probably more so Councilmember Kawakami, who is our Economic Development &
Intergovernmental Relations Committee Chair. Wally, normally what happens when
we develop a sister-city relationship, it is between the Mayor and Council, because
that is the "County."
Mr. Rezentes: Yes.
Council Chair Rapozo: Usually, what happens is when they do the
presentation, you get the Mayor and a Member of the Council, not that I want go back
to the Philippines. That is typically how it is done. Then you have a delegation that
involves the Administration and the legislative body and we go up there and do all of
these things. That is how it is usually done. I can tell you that we had a lot of
opportunities, not only with Davao, but with a couple of the other cities that we had
been invited to last year. I have been called one time to say, "Hey, Mel, somebody
from Davao is here. We are having dinner tonight. Can you make it?" Obviously, I
could not make it, but that was the only call I ever received. I am just wondering if
any other Councilmembers were part of this discussion. I do not know what has
evolved. I was not aware that we have been meeting with Kaua`i Coffee Company. I
think it is a great thing, but I am hearing this for the first time today and I think that
is concerning. I think that we should at least be involved in this process and probably
Councilmember Kawakami should be the first one to be invited, but whoever wanted
to go up from the County Council should be able to go up when we do a ceremony like
this, not just the Mayor. I think that is where I am having some problems with this.
Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I would appreciate an orientation, like a map,
that shows where Davao is and some background in terms of how many sister-city
relationships we already have with the Philippines. We want to honor whatever we
make our commitments to, and if we do a relationship with every city we visit, that
is not going to work. Then some discussion about what is common in our relationships
that will bring forth some opportunities to both sides and that kind of thing. I think
that would be a good way to launch any sister-city relationship.
Council Chair Rapozo: When is this planned trip supposed to
happen? It sounds like it is already planned.
Mr. Rezentes: The Mayor is going next week and I think...
COUNCIL MEETING 15 JANUARY 24, 2018
Councilmember Yukimura: Next week?
Mr. Rezentes: Next week.
Council Chair Rapozo: Next week?
Mr. Rezentes: Yes. I think one of the places he is going to go
is there.
(Councilmember Kagawa was noted as present.)
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Any other questions of the
Administration? Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Councilmember Kaneshiro: For me, I can tell you that my dad went—I do
not know how he got dragged into it—but he paid on his own dime. I think he went
because he has gone to other sister-city trips before. From what he has told me of
Davao City is that it is a great city, a prospering city, and that it is going to be an up
and coming city. Also, it is one of the safest cities...I think one of the top five (5)
safest cities in Asia now. He was talking to me more about the opportunities that are
happening there with the President Duterte, and the Mayor is his daughter of Davao
City, and there is a lot of opportunities going on in Davao and he thought that it was
a great opportunity. It was the Mayor that asked...I do not know how he went, but
he came back and was just saying that it is a great opportunity for the County with
sister-city relationships to be in a city that is going to be very prosperous in the future
and a city where I think coffee was a big industry and Kaua`i Coffee Company had an
opportunity to talk to the people. They were excited about Davao City. He said it is
very similar to Kaua`i as far as the rural environment and the type of people, but yet,
there was also a lot of industries going on there and he just thought it would be a
great opportunity.
Council Chair Rapozo: I am not disagreeing with the possibility. I
guess my frustration is that...I went...I was there last year and I saw that they had
a great...their coffee industry is different because they have a coffee that is
civet...that animal eats it, craps it out, and then they wash it and sell it; it is great
coffee, the most expensive coffee in the world. But their big industry right now is
cacao. They really cannot produce enough cacao to supply the world, but again, when
the Mayor and I went, we had discussions with the cacao farmer and we were talking
about possibilities of bringing them here, training our farmers out here in Kilauea,
possibly finding an area, because the climate is similar, that we would be able to teach
our farmers how to grow cacao and help the market. All of that was discussed and
that was the end of the day; pau, done. Now, I see a Resolution. I think like
Councilmember Yukimura is saying, and for me, is that this has to be a mutual effort.
This has to be a joint project between the County, including the Council, and the
Administration. That is all I am saying. If you folks are comfortable with just
wherever the Mayor goes and he wants to create a sister-city and we do a Resolution,
I think we need more information. We got that from you, Councilmember Kaneshiro,
from your dad. We did not get that from the Administration. I hate to sound like I
COUNCIL MEETING 16 JANUARY 24, 2018
am against everything, but this is a huge commitment that we are making when we
do a sister-city. It is not just a plaque that you hang on the wall and you give them
some poi and laulau and say, "Right on, now we are brother and sister." It is not like
that. It is a commitment that we are going to work to that end, that we are going to
work with them, exchange ideas, have trainings, and make this commitment of these
annual exchanges. That is a huge commitment when we are talking about a location
in the Philippines. I am just speaking out loud because we never had an opportunity
to discuss this and I have not spoken to anyone. I am surprised to hear that the trip
is as soon as next week. Councilmember Kawakami.
Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Since you posed a
specific question to me on my involvement, to the extent of actually going to Davao
City, I have never gone to Davao City, like yourself, but I have been in conversation.
We did meet a congresswoman from Davao City and we did learn that I think the
biggest takeaway from what the Administration sees in this sister-city relationship
is: one, from an economic development standpoint, Davao City's biggest economy is
agriculture and they feel that they can learn a lot from Davao City. They have a
tropical climate. They are growing a lot of the commodities that we are also growing
as well, not only coffee, but they are talking pineapple and diversified agriculture.
That was to the extent of any type of knowledge of this sister-city relationship. I have
not been invited to any trips. But I can tell you that the other takeaway is the
humanitarian exchange as well that was discussed. That is the extent of my
involvement.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: This piecing together of information is really
interesting. It is really interesting to hear about this city. I think the Administration
owes us a presentation of where it is and organizes this kind of information and tells
us. Can you do that? Can we defer this and can you get somebody over here who can
tell us something? Chair, can we do that? To ask us to vote on this...I am very much
in favor of international relations, especially with the Philippines, because we have
so many people here who come from there, but just some information.
Mr. Rezentes: We can send over something to you folks.
Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. That would be helpful.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any questions? If not, thank you. Public
testimony? Mr. Mickens, I will suspend the rules.
There being no objections, the rules were suspend to take public testimony.
Mr. Mickens: For the record, Glenn Mickens. I agree with
Council Chair Rapozo and Councilmember Yukimura. I think we need a lot more
information about these sister-cities than we are getting. I know we had an
entourage going over there and people going over there to supposedly encourage
tourism to come here. But going to the Philippines to do that...it is a very poor
country and just to try to get them...I think we have to...what is it costing the
COUNCIL MEETING 17 JANUARY 24, 2018
taxpayers to have these sister-cities? Like Chair said, if it is for farming instruction
or something, then we are getting some kind of bang for our buck. If it is just for a
goodwill relationship, we are spending big money to send the Mayor and his people
over there as just a goodwill relationship, I do not see the benefit of that. We are
getting all the tourism we need. Hawai`i is a place that everyone wants to come to
anyway. I do not think we have to advertise that much. Again, I do think that we
have to have more information, exactly what the cost is, and what kind of bang we
are getting for our buck. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Mr. Rezentes.
Mr. Rezentes: I apologize. If I could just clarify that—the
Mayor is actually going on vacation...a part of his trip he is going to be there in Davao
and meet with the Mayor Duterte, who he and yourself could not meet with the last
time because I believe she was having a baby or about to have a baby. So this is a
circle back with some folks from Kaua`i. The Mayor is not going on the County dime
on this trip.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Thank you.
Councilmember Yukimura: But he wants to bring this Resolution when
he goes, even though it is not...
Mr. Rezentes: I am not sure on the timing of the Resolution.
It may not be germane. I think he wanted the contingent of folks from Kauai and
other places to have the chance to meet with Mayor Duterte, because they were not
able to do that the last time. He is going there for some other things. Again, the
County is not paying for his airfare and that type of stuff.
Councilmember Yukimura: So this is not an official trip?
Mr. Rezentes: No, but that piece where he is going to be
meeting with her, I guess you could call it "official," but he has other things on this
trip that he is doing, but it is not "on the County's dime."
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: What I am hearing is that it is not
time-sensitive, so perhaps the presentation that is being requested by the Council...
Mr. Rezentes: We can come back for that presentation if you
would like.
Councilmember Chock: My clarification is, is it today or are we
deferring it to another meeting?
The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows:
COUNCIL MEETING 18 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: For me, I just feel like...I am going to say it, I
just think that it is disrespectful that this body is not informed, that this body was
not part of the planning and that this body is not part of that discussion. I do not
know of any County, and I do not think we have ever done it, where the Mayor just
went without a member of the Council. Again, I am not advocating, because I do not
want to go back there right now, but at least give an opportunity for a member of this
Council to go with the Mayor and be part of this ceremony. It just does not commit
the Administration, it commits the Council as well. It should be a team effort. That
is the frustration. I will leave it up to you folks. If it not time-sensitive, then I would
say that we just defer it to the next Council Meeting or whenever they are ready to
do a presentation. Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I would just prefer to approve it now, but of
course, a unanimous vote for a sister-city relationship would be great. Again, reading
this Resolution, it is not tying us to any funding; it is just establishing a friendship
with another city in hopes of bettering both cities. I feel like this is a formality. If
we have deeper discussions into the Mayor's travels or what have you, we can put
that as a separate communication and discuss it further, but I do not think we should
withhold our vote. We all agree that having these sister-city relationships are
nonbinding financially and provides benefit to us, because a lot of people from the
Philippines live amongst us and are a strong part of our community. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Again, let me say that as far as the sister-city
relationship with Davao, I am very encourage with what I saw when I went, but my
problem is the failure to include the Council; that is my problem. For me, it is a
serious problem. Councilmember Kawakami.
Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am all for approving
and I am also all for being included, as far as the Council goes and I had assumed
that we were involved. You got to take a trip out there. Some of us did get a briefing
on the economic value. Just for the public's personal edification—and this is the last
report that came out from the State in 2009, so it is outdated—but as of 2009, we
have eleven (11) sister-city relationships established in Kaua`i County, and if I
mispronounce any of these names, I ask for forgiveness: in 2000, Abra Provence in
the Philippines; 1989, Cooktown, Queensland, Australia; Ishigaki-Jima, part of the
Ryukyu Islands in Japan; Moriyama City; Hebei Provence in China; Tsuoshima
Yamaguchi Prefecture; French Polynesia; Penghu County in Taiwan; Santa, Ilocos
Sur Provence; Urdaneta, Pangasinan Provence in Philippines; and Woodbey,
England. So I am interested to see from 2009 to now, how many we have added and
historically what the process was. I think I was around to approve maybe one (1)
sister-city, but I do not recall too much Council involvement. If that was a precedent
that was set, then I am all for that as well. I am okay with what I have learned about
Davao City to go ahead and approve it. I know that we do have a longstanding
relationship with Davao City and Hawaii as far as the community of the County of
Kaua`i because of our great relationship with the Philippines. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura.
COUNCIL MEETING 19 JANUARY 24, 2018
Councilmember Yukimura: I think this has great possibilities, but it is not
budget-free because we spend money to take trips there, and then when they come,
we host them. It takes time of our staff and of the Mayor's staff. There are wonderful
opportunities, but it is not without cost. We want to focus on, celebrate, and actually
develop opportunities. So it is a time and attention matter as well. We cannot do it
with every city that we go and visit. We have to concentrate on the ones that are
similar to us and where we have common interests and so forth. I think it is
something we should do with all deliberation and I really feel that if the goal is
friendship and increased understanding, the opportunity to tell us today and to tell
the island that is watching about this place and the possibility of the relationship
should be part of the process. Some of you have had the privilege of going to visit or
to be briefed, but I believe the majority has not.
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone else? I had one (1) day in Davao
where I met with a couple of businesspeople and I thought that the potential was
great. Again, what is our commitment to move forward in that relationship? I think
that is critical. Councilmember Brun.
Councilmember Brun: You asked about if we were involved—I
received a call from Councilmember Kaneshiro that they were going to be down at his
dad's place the day of and I could not show up. For me, I had no involvement in this.
This is new to me, just like everyone else.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: True, that it does cost when trips are made,
but we control the budget. We have the budget proceedings coming up and we can
control how much the Mayor has in his travel budget and how much he has in his
hosting budget. I think the power we have is we can control how much money he has
to spend on all of the relationships that we have. To say, "Well, we will hold off this
Resolution, because we do not think we need more sister-city relationships being
spent on"—that is not true, because we control the budget. Whatever amount we put
to spend on sister-city relationships is the limit. We control what is spent on
sister-city relationships, whether it would be traveling or hosting, which is why I am
saying that we already have...I do not know how much relationships...twelve (12)
plus, however much has been done...maybe twenty (20)? What is twenty-one (21)?
Why hold up this Resolution? We control how much we spend and we want to allow
the Administration to spend on these relationships. If we are barking that we want
to control spending on sister-city relationships, the buck stops here. We can do it.
We can stop it, not denying this one (1) relationship. We are creating a huge issue
out of something that basically we control at the budget. We control how much they
are going to be allowed to spend on sister-city relationships. Let us do our job if we
are concerned about the Mayor's spending on sister-city relationships. We have the
prerogative to do it. Just remember that when you are the Mayor, you are not only
worried about legislative matters;you are trying to build the entire County and trying
to do what is best for the entire County. Let us be clear that the Mayor's job is very
different from the Council's job and to manage it from this seat is not responsible.
COUNCIL MEETING 20 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Any other discussion? Councilmember
Kane shiro.
Councilmember Kaneshiro: I was actually going to say what
Councilmember Kagawa said regarding the budget and travel expenses. We approve
the budget; the travel expense is the Mayor's travel expense. We all see that line
item and the Mayor gets to travel however he wants within that travel expense. If
he wants to fly to the Philippines five (5) times a year, within his budget, he can, but
it will take away from him flying to Washington, D.C., or wherever else he goes. That
is his prerogative. I can tell you that we do have a lot of sister-cities. I think French
Polynesia just visited us last year where they came down and got to see our island. I
think it is a benefit to us and them when we do have the sister-cities. I know we had
baseball teams fly to Japan to play with one of our Japan sister-cities. These are
experiences that the people from Polynesia coming here and our kids going to play
baseball in Japan—these are experiences that they are going to remember forever.
For me, I am okay voting for it now. I only see it as a benefit.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: For me, it is not a matter of whether we have
control or not; we do have control. The questions about making a commitment, which
then we want to really fulfill. So we are going to tell them, "Well, we have already
gone on trips for sister-cities; when you come, we will not put out and do what we can
for you"? It is about making a commitment and then following up with it. That, for
me, is the issue. You can limit the budget anytime, but if you have made a
commitment to the sister-city, then you want to nurture it and it will take some
money. That is the issue. I am not opposing it, I will vote for it, too. I think we need
to have the process at least be proper.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. For me, it is not so much the
finance, it really is not. The sister-city is very important to the County. We have
seen that time and time again. The bigger issue for me that I have stated a few times
is just the fact that...I do not know if this is going to be done next week...I heard
Wally say that it is a vacation trip and that he is going to stop in the city, but is this
Resolution...is the ceremony going to be done at that point? I do not know. I do not
know if Wally can answer that or not, but I am not going to block this Resolution. If
the majority of this Council wants to approve it, obviously, I will approve it because
I have seen the potential. I just do not know what the County's plan is. I just want
to make sure that when this is done that this Council is given the opportunity to join
the Mayor on that trip. That is all I am asking for. This is not a mayoral sister-city;
it is a County sister-city and the Council plays a big role, as you folks have discussed
about the finances. You have to fund these relationships. I just want to make sure
that the Council is included. I have not seen one (1)...throughout this State, we see
it all of the time...the Mayors of the other counties always take a member of the
Council, typically the Economic Development Chair, but it could be anyone. It could
be multiple. That is what I want to make sure that this body has the opportunity to
be part of that delegation. Any other discussion? Councilmember Yukimura.
COUNCIL MEETING 21 JANUARY 24, 2018
Councilmember Yukimura: Chair, even if we vote on it today, I think we
are owed some really accurate information about this proposal. So if we could defer
it and have Wally get that, I would appreciate it.
Council Chair Rapozo: I do not know if Wally is able to do a
presentation that you are expecting...from what I heard him say was that I probably
know more about this than he does and I told you what I know—I spent a day there
and we met a couple of great businesspeople that were willing to share with our
island. I think it could be of great benefit. I think the cacao story for me was probably
the most enlightening.
Councilmember Yukimura: He did say, "Yes, we can provide information."
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I do not think we listen to each other talk.
What I proposed is that we put a communication that we can discuss all what you
want to discuss, but why hold up the Resolution? Again, we already have twenty (20)
or so, so why hold up one (1)? We are now worried about how we are going to pay and
what kind of commitment we are going to make to foster one. Why are we going to
focus on this one then? If the focus is all of our commitments to all of our sister-city
relationships, let us a put a communication where we can discuss all of them and
what kind of effort we are putting forward with a presentation to foster all of those
relationships. I do not think the Resolution needs to be held up. Let us do another
communication...
Council Chair Rapozo: We are going to take the vote, because the
motion was to approve. Councilmember Kawakami.
Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think you have a
good idea and I think we are leading to what I am going propose...why do we not
schedule a briefing in the Intergovernmental Relations & Economic Development
Committee, my Committee, on a briefing on our sister-city relationships under this
Administration, and then they can go over all the economic value or whether it was
humanitarian. Sometimes sister-cities is just an educational exchange, a cultural
exchange, or an economical exchange. I think there is value for us being briefed and
educated and the public at-large as to what the value of what sister-city relationships
are. It is a common question that comes up—when they read a sister-city relationship
being established, they say, "What is the value in it? How much does it cost?" It
would be a good opportunity to get a briefing on everything that we have seen. I think
that is what I proposed moving forward, but we can schedule that.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I do not have any objections to what has been
said, but I do feel that a resolution that begins a sister-city relationship should be
preceded by a formal presentation by the Administration about what this city is
about, what the commonalities are, where it is located, and all of that. It is a
resolution, it is an official act. I think we should know whether the Mayor is going to
COUNCIL MEETING 22 JANUARY 24, 2018
have an official ceremony next week. We just need to be informed, this kind of thing
where it is thrown on the agenda and we are expected to act without any background
does not seem very professional, if you want to put it that way. I am giving all leeway
possible, the possibility of passing it today, but at least getting a presentation, which
the Managing Director said he would be willing to do.
Council Chair Rapozo: Let me suspend the rules real quick and have
Wally come up. Can you clarify what you can and cannot do? Go ahead.
Councilmember Kagawa: In all of my years in working as staff here and
serving here as a Councilmember, I have seen numerous sister-city resolutions come
through and I have never seen a formal presentation, so this is something new that
we are asking him to do. Let us not blame them for not being prepared. It was never
done as far as I knew. When you are asking for something new, the tone of our
message needs to be carefully monitored. We are asking for something totally new,
now that you have brought this concern, which is a legitimate concern. What I am
saying is let us discuss that under a communication, which will not hold up the
Resolution. Again, we have a difference of opinion and how to handle this issue, so I
suggest just taking a vote.
Council Chair Rapozo: Wally, are you folks able to do a presentation?
Let me ask the first question, and I am willing to support this Resolution today to get
it passed, but is the Mayor going to be doing the ceremony next week?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Rezentes: I am not sure what formal or informal...
Council Chair Rapozo: Can you find out?
Mr. Rezentes: Yes, I can find out.
Council Chair Rapozo: I do not have a problem passing this today,
because I saw what we can do with Davao, but my only objection is the fact that we
were not included. If we pass this today, can we get a commitment from the
Administration that a date be set where this body would at least be invited to
participate in that?
Mr. Rezentes: Sure.
Council Chair Rapozo: Sure?
Mr. Rezentes: We can do that invitation and come back with
more information as the Council desires.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. I would agree with Councilmember
Kawakami that this Committee can actually have a session involving the sister-cities
in general. Any other questions of Wally? If not, I will call the meeting back to order.
Further discussion?
COUNCIL MEETING 23 JANUARY 24, 2018
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
The motion for adoption of Resolution No. 2018-04 was then put, and carried
by the following vote:
FOR ADOPTION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 7*,
AGAINST ADOPTION: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
(*Pursuant to Rule No. 5(b) of the Rules of the Council of the County of Kaua`i,
Councilmember Yukimura was noted as silent, but shall be recorded as an affirmative
vote for the motion.)
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: Seven (7) ayes.
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
BILL FOR FIRST READING:
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND
THE KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, CHAPTER 8, RELATING TO
THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE (Additional Rental Unit):
Councilmember Kagawa moved to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660) for the
record, seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: This is the one that is applied just to Lihu`e,
right?
Council Chair Rapozo: Correct.
Councilmember Yukimura: I just want to say that for the reasons
mentioned by Bruce and other reasons, I felt that doing this pretty innovative
approach to providing housing, which I agree with, should be done on a pilot scale
and it was logical to me to do it in Lihu`e where we have said that we want to see the
growth and need to see the growth, because there is a huge number of lots in this
town, and by providing more housing, that will and can positively impact the traffic
situation on the island. We have a lot of the infrastructure here in Lihu`e, too. I am
not in favor of killing the Bill, which is what is done by receiving it; I would rather go
through the full discussion and leave both bills on the agenda until we are very sure
that we want one or the other. The other Bill is Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686), which
is the next Bill on this agenda and I am open-minded about it, but I think we need to
be concerned about the impacts and we need to have a full discussion. We are still
COUNCIL MEETING 24 JANUARY 24, 2018
going to public hearing on Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686), so I would like to have both
options kept alive until we finish our deliberations on the Additional Rental Units
(ARUs).
Council Chair Rapozo: Any further discussion? I think we had the
discussion when it came up and my concern was the fact that it was limited to Lihu`e
only and that I would not support a bill that was limited to only one (1) area, but that
option is up to this body right here. The receipt does kill it. Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: I have been told that the Lihu`e Bill is in
Committee, so it is stuck in the Committee and needs to be addressed there.
Council Chair Rapozo: That means we need to dispose of the
Committee first. Let us just defer this then.
Councilmember Yukimura: So I think Scott just explained that the Lihu`e
one is coming back with Bill No. 2686.
Council Chair Rapozo: It is set for next week's Committee Meeting,
right? When is it scheduled for?
Councilmember Yukimura: Maybe Scott can take the mic.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
SCOTT K. SATO, Deputy County Clerk: Scott Sato, Council Services
Staff. So the Lihu`e version that Councilmember Yukimura is referring to is currently
scheduled to come back on the Planning Committee Agenda on February 28th, which
will coincide with Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686), taking its course and coming back
at the exact same moment, so that the Planning Committee can entertain the Lihu`e
version, as well as this Islandwide ARU, which is now being returned back from the
Planning Commission.
Council Chair Rapozo: What is the Council Meeting following the
Committee Meeting that this is scheduled for?
Mr. Sato: It will then be heard for second and final
reading on March 14th.
Ms. Fountain-Tanigawa: If it passes.
Council Chair Rapozo: That would be the motion we need.
Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: So for clerical purposes, for our staff, to make
it cleaner, it would be best to receive this first one as recommended, right?
COUNCIL MEETING 25 JANUARY 24, 2018
Mr. Sato: Correct. The recommendation would be to
receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660), proceed with Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686),
which has the Planning Commission's recommendation.
Council Chair Rapozo: What is in the Committee that you talked
about?
Mr. Sato: The Committee is just that Lihu`e version
only.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay.
Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you, Scott.
Mr. Sato: So the motion for Proposed Draft Bill
(No. 2686) would be to approve on first reading, schedule public hearing for
February 21st, and refer to the Planning Committee. That will bring both versions,
the Lihu`e version and the Islandwide, on the same Planning Committee Agenda.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay, so the motion to receive is appropriate?
Mr. Sato: For Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660), correct.
Council Chair Rapozo: Which is where we are at right now?
Mr. Sato: Yes.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Yukimura.
The meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows:
Councilmember Yukimura: I want to thank our staff, Scott Sato, for the
clarification. It sounds like what I wanted to happen will be happening where we will
have both bills before us. I am happy to vote to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660).
Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any other discussion?
The motion to receive Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2660) for the record was then
put, and carried by the following vote:
FOR RECEIPT: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST RECEIPT: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0.
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. Next item, please.
COUNCIL MEETING 26 JANUARY 24, 2018
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND
THE KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, CHAPTER 8, RELATING TO
THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE (Additional Rental Unit —
Planning Commission Recommendation): Councilmember Kagawa moved for passage
of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686) on first reading, that it be ordered to print, that a
public hearing thereon be scheduled for February 21, 2018, and referred to the
Planning Committee, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion? Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: This is the Islandwide one, right?
Council Chair Rapozo: Yes.
Councilmember Kagawa: My only concern on the islandwide, my main
concern, is how do we prevent any ARUs from happening north of Kilauea? My
reasons is that we have heard it clearly from a lot of the residents there that there is
enough as it is. We need some type of"moratorium," although we do not want to use
that word, until there is something done about the traffic, especially in the Hanalei
Bridge area and just saying that there is too much parking issues and too much
congestion in the communities. When you go islandwide, I would say that it is almost
illegal to just say "islandwide, but not Hanalei and Ha`ena." I think the way we can
vet that issue is to make sure that we work with Planning and put language in there
that really forces the homeowners to do a benefit back to the people of Kaua`i, like to
get rid of cesspools and those kind of things, should an ARU be granted. Maybe that
kind of condition would probably prevent those ARUs from happening. I would rather
see that type of solution, rather than going with some type of language that just
eliminates a certain community, but a lot of work to be done on the ARU. As far as
the rest of the island, I think for me, it is a fairness issue. The reason why myself
and Council Chair Rapozo asked for the islandwide was that there were people that
watched our meetings regularly...we say millions watch, right? I do not think it is
actually millions, but when they saw that Bill, they said, "Great, why can we not do
that in Waimea? Why can we not do it in Hanapepe? It would be great income for us
if we could put up a unit." Believe it or not, there is high rent going on in the west
side and for a lot of people, that really can help to pay some bills, especially if they
have the room. There is a lot of residences that are more suited as far as area, and
driveway, parking in the property, et cetera, compared to in Lihu`e. In many ways,
it makes more sense out there; however, like Councilmember Yukimura said, a lot of
times you have to worry about adding more homes, but what about more congestion
into Lihu`e? I say, "Well, what if a lot of those people already work at the Pacific
Missile Range Facility (PMRF)? What if they work on the west side?" Then it would
not be adding to congestion. It depends who these rentals are going out to. Are they
going out to the local people that already live there? If so, then there is no congestion
being added because they are already driving from where they come from. The
islandwide was done because of the community who had called and say, "Wow, why
does only Lihu`e have this benefit?" I think that was a fair response that we have to
try and be fair to residents' needs and wants. If they want it to be applied to all, then
we have to try and accommodate so that everything is fairer. Thank you.
COUNCIL MEETING 27 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone else? Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I know that residents want to add additional
units. So many families are crowded with many generations in one (1) house, so the
problem is big. I also know that I sat in at the Kekaha meeting where ARUs was
discussed twice and the first time, they all were enthusiastic about it until the second
meeting they heard that they had to have sewers. Then not too many people raised
their hand after that to say they were interested, because one, there are no sewers
right now in Kekaha, and two, they did not want the bimonthly sewer bill that came.
It is cheaper for them right now on cesspools, so they did not see that it could actually
work for them. That is why it will not be available in a lot of places because there are
not sewers in a lot of places. If we want to sewer the whole island, then we can make
it happen that way, but that is not feasible either. As far as whether it is legal to give
higher density for one (1) place and not the other, that is where the R-40 process is
all about. For the Lihu`e Town Core, you are giving it in a place where it is
appropriate and not where it is not appropriate and that is what we have to decide.
Parking is a really big issue...actually, the problems you cited, Vice Chair, of parking
problems, congestion, and traffic. It is not only happening on the north shore, it is
happening in a lot of places. If that is the reason not to have ARUs, that reasoning
applies to a lot of places on the island.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any other discussion? Councilmember
Kawakami.
Councilmember Kawakami: Thank you, Mr. Chair. The time and place to
do a pilot project is when we are being proactive and addressing some kind of
forecasted problem, but we have come to the point where we are under a housing
crisis. As much as I am concerned, and it is a serious concern and I brought it up
about where we park vehicles, I am more concerned about where we are parking our
people. There is a homeless crisis right now and people are desperate. There are
local families that do not know if their children can come back home, and if they can
come back home then that means they are sharing the same roof with mom, dad,
grandpa, and grandma, and sometimes a lot of different multigenerational families.
I think as we go through the process, one, we are going to be addressing a lot of the
issues that are going to bubble through the surface, but just the talk about cesspools,
we just had a report that is compelling as to the direction that the State needs to take
and the counties need to take with cesspools. It is impact on our drinking water, it is
impact on our environment. So to continue to lead people to believe that cesspools
are going to be okay in perpetuity, to me, is dishonest. At some point in time,
government is going to have to provide the infrastructure so that we can allow for
growth. I have to admit that I am part of the population problem because I have
two (2) kids and I am part of the traffic problem because I drive, so I cannot be a
hypocrite and say that nobody else deserves just because we are growing, but I do
believe that we are going to have to continue to build a robust sewer system to address
what we do with our waste in a responsible way and it is going to cost them money.
Even though people do not want to pay for it for the next generation, I do not think
we can afford to pollute their drinking water supply. So I see the value in all of this
I think as we move along to the public hearing and having it go to Committee, all of
these things are going to pop up. The other issue is how are they going to pay for
COUNCIL MEETING 28 JANUARY 24, 2018
their fair share on infrastructure, like our water source, how we deliver water? Is
there is going to be a Facility Reserve Charge (FRC) tacked onto this? There are so
many moving pieces on this issue. It is not a simple thing and I think it is going to
be a lengthy and robust discussion on all of these issues that pop up, like parking,
sewer, what we do with water, electricity, and so on and so forth. Thank you,
Mr. Chair.
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone else? Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I think we also need to understand that in this
Bill, there is no requirement for affordability, so I think the basic theory of this Bill
is that the more supply you can have, the potential for lowering the price of housing,
but when the world is the market for real estate on Kaua`i, that supply issue does not
work or it only works for a short time, and then we have the problem again. I agree
with Councilmember Kawakami that it is very, very complex and certainly the
housing problem is not going to be addressed solely by this, but it could be part of the
solution and I think that is what we are having to craft.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Brun.
Councilmember Brun: I think this Bill will help to provide more
houses for more local families. I think we are going with affordability—nobody that
is rich is going to come from the mainland and going to live in somebody's extension.
I can tell you that. That is just not going to happen. This is just my opinion, but I
think that this will benefit the local families. I just went past Waimea on the way in
and the homeless is getting worse out there and I think the smaller units will help
families to come home. The Chair mentions about his two (2) kids living in the
mainland because they cannot afford to come here and this will help some of that. I
just think this is good and it will help the local families and help kids to stay home to
get on their feet before they can go out and buy their own house. I think we are
digging way too deep into this about the affordability and stuff and I think it will
work out. I am fully in support of this.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: Let me remind the public that Lihu'e has
already had a lot of ARUs built and they are called "illegal ARUs." It has been
well-documented on this Council floor since the '70s/80s about illegal ARUs in Puhi,
Hanamd'ulu, and Lihu'e. Let us be clear that the ARU Bill is not the first time that
ARUs have been taken advantage of. They have been taken advantage of illegally
from fifty (50) years ago. Some are even so-called "monster homes." We have monster
homes here and those take enormous amounts off the sewer, off the water, but they
just feed off of one (1) meter or one (1) sewer pipe, because they are illegal. There is
a big difference between what we are going to be allowing legally and what has
already been going on and continues to go on illegally. Let us be clear about the facts.
I wish we had clearer numbers as far as outside of Lihu'e, how much illegals are out
there. I do know for a fact that it is in the hundreds or even thousands of how much
are actually illegal in Lihu'e already. It would be nice to know what is out there...I
do not think it is much outside of Lihu'e, but there are some. There are hundreds in
COUNCIL MEETING 29 JANUARY 24, 2018
Kapa'a as well. There is a big difference, but generating more for local families,
maybe we have to do it. What is more important now? To worry about illegal or legal,
or to find affordable housing for our local families? That is what it is going to come
down to. Do we only do it in Lihu`e or do we allow it outside of Lihu`e? Those are big
issues and this Bill should not be taken lightly.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too, am looking
forward to the discussion on this item. I think that we have really tried to look at the
bigger picture with this particular Bill. I think one of the things that we have learned
in the process is what density it is going to take for developers to look at building
residential houses within their budget and within some type of affordability, and
while this is certainly not the magic pill, I am looking forward to that discussion to
see what the threshold is. This may not be it. We already have Additional Dwelling
Units (ADUs) already on the board and they have not made a difference. Will the
ARU and increased density make us get to that threshold so that it becomes more
attractive for developers to focus and invest in this? We do know that what it will do
is open the opportunity for a family who lives on this island, who has young children
or young adults who want to get started in the world, or have aging parents and
kapuna who need a place, and can no longer be in their own home. It may offer the
opportunity for a wall to be broken down and to be built so that we can include that
kind of living. I think that the value of having a bill is that the government is part of
the process in identifying and addressing some of the concerns that we have seen with
regard to illegal activity; for instance, in Hanama`ulu that was suggested. The
questions of parking and other concerns are definitely where I would like to focus on
and see how it is that we can come to a place where we are actually designing and
planning neighborhoods and still retaining the character that we want and see so
that this can be a place where we all want to grow up and live. I am a little concerned
about the fact that it is really being limited by our sewer system. While I agree that
we need to really transition, and that is the ultimate goal for us—right now, this is
what is limiting this type of development. So this is actually being used as a planning
mechanism to some degree and I think that there are some red flags to that, so we
need to be careful and really monitor how that happens moving forward.
Nonetheless, as I said before, it is just one (1) small piece of the puzzle and I think
there are going to be many others, as Councilmember Kawakami suggested that
needed to be looked at, that we need to put on the table. We are in a state of crisis, a
state of emergency, so we need to be clear and not only be creative, but maybe even
take some bigger steps in that direction. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone else? I, too look forward to the
discussion. There is going to be a lot of issues. Councilmember Kagawa brought up
the issue of parking at the last discussion, a very, very important discussion. When
this Bill first came out, I think the structure was limited to five hundred (500) square
feet? Is that correct? The lot size was also determined. As Mr. Hart said earlier,
eight hundred (800) square feet—my house is seven hundred twenty (720) square feet
with three (3) bedrooms and a bathroom and we had three (3) cars, because my
daughter had a car, and if my son was on Kaua`i at the time, there would have been
four (4) cars. So we have to be very cognizant that when we start dropping these
COUNCIL MEETING 30 JANUARY 24, 2018
ARUs in these residences, we have to make sure that the parking is accounted for.
One (1) off-street parking will leave a few more cars on the road, and with the parking
law that we just passed, how many people are going to be legally able to park on the
road? What are these folks going to do? The other issue is we are going to have to
determine what is the intent of this legislation? Is it to house your ohana, your kids,
grandparents, or whatever? Or is it to fill up a gap need of rentals? Keeping in mind
that...we all know the owner-builder laws in Hawai`i clearly state that if you go
owner-builder, you cannot rent that property for one (1) year. You cannot rent out
that unit. You cannot sell the unit. You are going to have to basically build this
unit...if you are going to do it on your own...otherwise, if you are looking at a eight
hundred (800) square foot house at a two hundred dollars ($200) a square foot, you
are looking at one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) just to build a house. I
am not sure how many families can absorb that and not be able to charge some kind
of rent. If they go owner-builder, you cannot recoup any of that. I envision a lot of
garages being enclosed or existing parts of the home being blocked off with a separate
entry and they will be able to rent those out, but if you are going to build a separate
unit, you are restricted by owner-builder, otherwise, it is going to be very feasibly not
doable...you cannot do it, it is just too expensive. We have to determine the intent.
Are we just trying to get our kids into homes? If so, then we might have to put in
some kind of ohana requirement. There is a lot of discussion that needs to be had. I
do not expect this thing to fly through in a committee meeting or two, but I would ask
that we all keep those issues in mind because those are complex issues and we have
to make sure that we anticipate all of the unanticipated consequences that we might
be creating. I look forward to a very, very involved debate coming up in the next few
months. Any other discussion? If not, roll call.
The motion for passage of Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2686) on first reading, that
it be ordered to print, that a public hearing thereon be scheduled for
February 21, 2018, and referred to the Planning Committee was then put, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR PASSAGE: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 7,
AGAINST PASSAGE: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Rapozo: Next item, please.
Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2687) — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND
CHAPTER 8, SECTION 8-2.1(A) AND SECTION 8-4.2(A), AND CHAPTER 10,
SECTION 10-5A.7(A), KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, AS AMENDED, RELATING
TO THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE AND LIHU`E TOWN CORE
URBAN DESIGN DISTRICT: Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to refer Proposed
Draft Bill (No. 2687) to the Planning Commission, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: With that, I will suspend the rules. Ka`aina,
can you come up please?
COUNCIL MEETING 31 JANUARY 24, 2018
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Hull: Aloha Chair and Members of the Council.
Ka`aina Hull, on behalf of the Planning Department. So the map that you have above
you folks where you see "SPA," which refers to "Special Planning Area D" as in
"David", that is the Rice Street Special Planning Area. So the draft bill right now is
to allow up to R-40 in the Special Planning Area "D."
Councilmember Yukimura: Special Planning Area "D"?
Mr. Hull: Yes, "D" as in "David."
Councilmember Yukimura: Can you just show us where Rice Street is?
Mr. Hull: Rice Street runs right along there. This entire
gray area...
Council Chair Rapozo: Hang on, Ka`aina. I am sorry.
Councilmember Kawakami.
Councilmember Kawakami: I just want to inform the Council and the
public at-large that I am going to be recusing myself from this agenda item. I do have
a potential conflict of interest. I will be seeking an opinion from the Board of Ethics.
We do have some property in this special area, so I will be recusing myself.
(Councilmember Kawakami was noted as recused from Proposed Draft
Bill (No. 2687).)
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you very much. Ka`aina.
Mr. Hull: So Rice Street is right along here, but the
entire gray area, Special Planning Area "D," would be under the proposed draft
ordinance, allowed up to R-40. Right now, the entire area requires for residential
density at R-20. Is there any other questions?
Council Chair Rapozo: That map is real difficult. Where is Kapule?
Where is the nearest cross street?
Mr. Hull: The County buildings are over here.
Council Chair Rapozo: Where is this Historic County Building?
Mr. Hull: It should be right over here. Sorry, over here.
Councilmember Yukimura: That is the Civic Center, right?
Mr. Hull: Yes.
COUNCIL MEETING 32 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Is that the Civic Center or the Historic County
Building? Where is Lihu`e Chevron?
Mr. Hull: Lihu`e Chevron should be over here.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Rice Shopping Center?
Mr. Hull: Where you see that C/G.
Council Chair Rapozo: Better yet, where is Lihu`e Court
Townhomes?
Mr. Hull: The Lihu`e Court Townhomes are down in this
area, I believe where it says R-20.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: So if it says R-20, why did you say that it was
R-40?
Mr. Hull: No, so the Lihu`e Court Townhomes were
built prior to the adoption of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO). It was
built at R-70, I believe, or the equivalent to R-70. I can also state that the recent Rice
Camp development was done in conjunction with the Housing Agency, where they
went for a special permit that I believe they built it at a density close to R-30.
Councilmember Yukimura: Okay. How did they do that?
Mr. Hull: Under the current CZO, if you apply for a
project development use permit, not just a regular use permit, but a project
development use permit, and it is in partnership with a County, State, or Federal
housing agency, that permit can allow you to exceed density.
Councilmember Yukimura: So why would we not do that for SPA-D? That
would ensure that there would be some affordable housing or that there will be
emphasis on affordable housing when a developer comes forth, instead of just giving
them outright R-40.
Mr. Hull: Well, any developer right now can partner
with a State, County, or Federal housing agency to qualify for that exemption. We
just had numerous meetings with potential housing developers, and as you all are
well-aware, in the past decade, we have not seen any new entitlements for any new
housing program or housing project. There is an array of different reasons, the costs
in particular. With those meetings, we have the potential developers and they have
pointed out some things concerning multifamily units and apartment-type of
complexes. The current R-20 restriction can be a barrier to entry and that it does not
pencil out as far as economies of scale and providing the product at the multifamily
level.
COUNCIL MEETING 33 JANUARY 24, 2018
Councilmember Yukimura: But they are assuming that it will be market
units, right?
Mr. Hull: Assuming that it be market units under
Kaua`i's current Housing Ordinance, there would be a necessary ratio that are
dedicated to the affordable housing program, but indeed market units.
Councilmember Yukimura: Just in terms of the overall picture, I think the
Planning Department has said that there is no room for transfer development rights
because we are already overloaded with units. There is no real need for additional
units. Is this not an example of giving units when you could instead make it a
receiving zone for transfer development rights?
Mr. Hull: Well, the thing is that there are numerous
properties still here in Lihu`e that have not built out their density. So nobody is going
to pay extra to buy density that they do not have. Quite honestly, it is just providing
an opportunity to, say, if you want to build a multifamily unit up to the R-40 level,
you can do it over-the-counter, essentially.
Councilmember Yukimura: Exactly. With the stroke of a pen, we are
giving them extra density and we have been doing that historically and that is why
you folks are telling me that transfer development rights does not work because we
have overloaded the densities and nobody really needs it. Now, this is a real need.
That is why you are coming forward. You are saying there is a need for more density.
Mr. Hull: Well, there is a need to allow to reduce
barriers of entry for potential housing projects, indeed.
Councilmember Yukimura: And they can already do that with this project
development use permit, which would give them an incentive to really work on
providing affordable housing.
Mr. Hull: Like I said, I will agree with that sentiment,
Councilmember, that indeed there is a current way to do it, but I can say personally
that I have met with, in the past year, two (2) different development projects that
because of the discretionary permit review process, they were not going to avail
themselves to it. Without any guarantees, they decided not to proceed forward with
the project.
Councilmember Yukimura: Okay.
Council Chair Rapozo: I have a question. How many available lots or
how many developable lots are there in that district right now? Do we know?
Mr. Hull: I do not have that number on me at the
moment.
COUNCIL MEETING 34 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Is it significant? Is it a few? Is it a couple?
How many people can actually use this? I am assuming the fifty percent (50%) lot
coverage rule; is that for this area?
Mr. Hull: That still applies currently.
Council Chair Rapozo: So you are telling me that they can only use...
Mr. Hull: I apologize, Chair. The fifty percent (50%) lot
rule only applies to that section that is noticed as R-20. The rest of the Special
Planning Area has a ninety percent (90%) lot coverage.
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. Of all of the available lots out there,
how many are of an acre or more?
Mr. Hull: I do not have that on me, but we could get you
that information.
Council Chair Rapozo: Do we have a ballpark?
Mr. Hull: Several lots are.
Council Chair Rapozo: That are an acre or more?
Mr. Hull: Yes.
Council Chair Rapozo: Buildable? This is what I am concerned about
and maybe you can help me, but is the Planning Department intending to come back
to Council to get a change in the height requirement to accommodate this?
Mr. Hull: The height requirement for this district was
already expanded eight (8) years ago to fifty (50) feet.
Council Chair Rapozo: I know it is fifty (50) feet now, but is there an
intent of the Administration and the Planning Department to come back to Council
to raise that to an even higher limit to accommodate this R-40?
Mr. Hull: I can say that there have been no discussions
from the Department's side on that. If it is referred to the Planning Commission and
the Planning Commission has a discussion, the Department does not anticipate
needing to raise it to accommodate the R-40 at this point, because unlike other areas,
you can go fifty (50) feet and an additional fifteen (15) to twenty (20) feet for a sloping
roof. So the height limit for the Lihu`e area was raised seven (7) years ago, above and
beyond what the rest of the island can do.
Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, I know that, but I do not want that to get
higher, for me. That is why I want to know how many lots. If it is going to impact a
few lots, three (3) lots, four (4) owners, that even have the available space to do this
without having to go up, then have them go get the exemption or the variance or
COUNCIL MEETING 35 JANUARY 24, 2018
whatever you call it. If this is going to allow people to build units that can create
more inventory, then I think it is worth looking into. I just want to make sure that
we are not creating a scenario where two (2), three (3), four (4) years from now...we
need high-rises in Lihu`e, I do not want to see that happen. Thank you.
Councilmember Brun.
Councilmember Brun: That was one of my discussions with Ka`aina,
too, on this. By introducing this, I did not want to go over that fifty (50) feet. My first
concern was if we go up to R-40, do we go higher and it is already a restriction on that
and that was my main thing. I would not support going any higher, exactly what you
were talking about, and that was my intention with this whole Bill. Doing this Bill...I
guess we can talk about it during discussion.
Council Chair Rapozo: Do you have any more questions here?
Councilmember Yukimura: I think any information is helpful.
Councilmember Brun: Well, after going through to the Smart
Growth Conference in the mainland, something that I fell in love with was the shops
on the bottom and housing above, that dual purpose. Then we had these
conversations with Ka`aina and we worked on this and this is what came up, but I
really wanted that trip that we went on and even Councilmember Chock was there
and we talked about it. I really looked at that and it is something that I thought we
could do down here. This would help our whole Rice Street. Some of us have issues
with that whole Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER)
grant, but it is there and it is going to happen, but how can we promote these
businesses now, and I think this would help the businesses by putting more houses
there and help them move forward and revitalize Rice Street that we are all talking
about. Some of the main topics behind going with this and moving this forward and
I am also concerned about the height, so I talked about it with Ka`aina and we are
not going to go for anything higher than that fifty (50) feet or limit that we are at
right now, because I would not support anything higher than that. That was my main
concern. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: You are basically doubling the density, so that
is why it is kind of interesting when you talk about the Kapa'a development and how
everybody is going nuts about the traffic. They are doing the calculations about, "Hey,
this many more units is going to create this many more cars," but that argument
applies wherever you have increases in density. So Rice Street now, we are taking
the road from basically four (4) lanes to two (2), the turning lane or whatever you
want to call it, and then we are going to start talking about...for me, it is very
important that I find out how many eligible properties are there. What is the
potential unit net increase we will see and where will those people park on Rice
Street? What are we going to do about the traffic there? We are going to come back
ten (10) years from now and say, "Now we have to go back to four (4) lanes on Rice
Street. We went from four (4) to two (2) and now because we increased density on
Rice Street, we doubled the population, we have to go back to four (4) lanes." I think
we have to think about all of these things...how many units are we talking about?
How many eligible properties are we talking about? What is the anticipated net
COUNCIL MEETING 36 JANUARY 24, 2018
increase of units? I think that is going to be critical as we start talking about
infrastructure needs of Rice Street as well. Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I have the same concerns and my question
was how are you going to handle parking and traffic?
Mr. Hull: Under the proposal, there are no attempts to
reduce the parking requirement. So the project as proposed, any project, would still
have to provide at a minimum of two (2) off-street parking stalls for each dwelling
unit.
Councilmember Yukimura: Well, is that not going to be an obstacle?
Parking structures are extremely expensive. What about the government's role in
providing a Lihu`e shuttle that comes every ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes?
Mr. Hull: That has not entered the discussion at this
point. I can say that there are discussions about providing potential parking areas
around Lihu`e that are going on right now, but there is nothing that...
Council Chair Rapozo: Where would that be, Ka`aina?
Mr. Hull: There was a parking study done a couple of
years ago.
Council Chair Rapozo: Yes, but where would we, County, be able to
put a parking structure?
Mr. Hull: Whether it would be on County land or vacant
State land, there has not been any specific...
Council Chair Rapozo: Using today's scenario, where would we have?
Where do we see...the State has just torn down the old police station, so that is a
parking lot; aside from that, where?
Councilmember Yukimura: That is not Smart Growth.
Council Chair Rapozo: I am just saying, where is the available land
that we could build a structure? You are talking about forty (40) units per acre; that
is eighty (80) vehicles that you have to accommodate parking for. Where are those
cars going to park? You cannot go up because you have the height limit. That is why
I am saying that you are creating a dragon that is going to come back and say, "Oops,
now we have to go up because now we have to allow for underground parking or
structured parking." I think we all have to be real when we look at these numbers,
because it looks good on paper, but how are we going to make it happen in a location
that is a finite location...it is what it is...where do you create it? Are you going to go
and condemn land to create parking? This is not the time to really have that
discussion because we are going to have it in the Committee, but I think these are
things that I am asking that Members think about, because you have to deal with
COUNCIL MEETING 37 JANUARY 24, 2018
what comes with the development, which is the parking, the traffic, and all of that.
Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I think it is something that hopefully
Planning will have thought about when you bring a proposal like this to us, because
we cannot ignore it and it does not work without figuring out the traffic. Ka`aina, I
think you know from Smart Growth Conferences that transit is the answer. You
cannot go the old parking lot...parking structures...it is thirty thousand dollars
($30,000) a parking stall. If you want to start charging for parking, you can start
doing that. Anyway, we will be expecting...it is going to the Planning Commission,
so we will be expecting that when it comes from Planning that a lot of these issues
have been thought through. I could buy it for the R-40 if you have a really good
transit solution accompanying it. Also, the Chair's question about how many lots
would actually qualify is a very good question, but you can also have consolidation of
lots, right? If you give incentives, like forty (40) units per acre, that could motivate
consolidation of lots. We cannot limit our thinking to just the existing large lots right
now.
Council Chair Rapozo: I think for me, you have to set the range, like
what is the maximum buildout potential? With the way the lots are right now, what
is the potential in increasing units, and then work backwards from that and how you
are going to accommodate the traffic and the parking. We cannot ignore that. I am
hoping that all the people against Kapa'a is not going to come here at the Committee
and say, "Hey, you cannot do that. We are going to have traffic." Traffic is inevitable,
but we need to know what that impact would be at full buildout or potential buildout.
Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: Car traffic is not inevitable if we provide for
other modes.
Council Chair Rapozo: Like helicopters? I am a proponent for
helicopters and helipads on every building.
Councilmember Yukimura: Maybe drones? Kidding.
Council Chair Rapozo: Yes. Anything else? Councilmember Chock.
Councilmember Chock: When you think about the density that we are
increasing to in terms of parking, what is the right ratio that we typically look at or
see in construction?
Mr. Hull: Under the current zoning ordinance, it is
required to have two (2) parking stalls per unit.
Councilmember Chock: Is that something that we can see decreased
or does that work in other places to decrease those?
Mr. Hull: I will say that there are already some
established parameters in the Lihu`e Town Core plan for a reduced parking for elderly
COUNCIL MEETING 38 JANUARY 24, 2018
housing, because not as many in the elderly housing units are going to have access or
have vehicles in their ownership. There are ways to certainly adjust that. Also, in
some of the discussions previously concerning the ARU, I think we can assume that
in most cases and most scenarios, there is going to be at least two (2) vehicles per unit
at the same time. As the discussion is unfolding today, that is always going to be a
little bit of the rub, right? As we put more dwelling, indeed, that is going to impact
the roads. The studies that we have done over the past few years have shown that
we are going through a population growth, nominal, but a population growth
nonetheless, and the majority of that population growth is coming internally, is
coming from our own children. So we need to build more to accommodate those keiki.
But we get a lot of pushback from the public and one of the biggest one is, "Make sure
that we maintain our rural landscape and make sure that we maintain our open
spaces, so do not develop more outward, no more suburban sprawl, but make more
houses." We look at that, the only real answer to that then to maintain those rural
areas and maintain the landscape that we have is to look into our town cores to
further develop those areas. With that, inevitably, as the Chair mentioned, we are
going to have some parking impacts and some on-street impacts.
Councilmember Chock: I guess when I am thinking about the
expansion of the town core, what we are trying to encourage—are we trying to house
families in our town core? Are we looking at small apartments? Those would define
what kind of parking lots we have. That is where I am trying to get a handle on or
get a sense of what it is we could visualize having that encouraged so that we could
actually address...parking is a big issue and it will come up. We need to be able to at
least provide an avenue of what we are expecting so that we can work with partners.
Mr. Hull: Yes, that point is well-taken, Councilmember
Chock. I think at this point and in their discussions with Councilmember Brun, the
introduction of this, as well as even to a certain degree the ARU discussion, is that
there are certain design areas that some of us all envision we would like, but the
reality of the situation is that nobody is building right now; whether it is a medium
scale house, a large house, or a micro unit in Lihu`e, nobody is building right now.
There are a lot of barriers to entry to that. I am not blaming the developers or the
property owners, there are indeed barriers to entry and the cost of infrastructure and
the cost of time of permitting. In looking at this and other lines we are throwing in
the water is that there are some barriers to entry that are in the zoning code and
what can we do from a Planning perspective to reduce those barriers and to hopefully
stimulate folks into building units.
Councilmember Chock: The parking one is a big one, as we have seen,
and I have read some of what was happening in other areas across the country, so it
could really make a determination of doubling that infrastructure or not. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: When you say no one is building, you mean
affordable units?
COUNCIL MEETING 39 JANUARY 24, 2018
Mr. Hull: I was speaking somewhat hyperbole that
there are some units going on, but nowhere near the amount of units that are
necessary to keep up with our housing projections given our population growth.
Councilmember Yukimura: I was just in Po`ipu at Kiahuna Shopping
Center.
Mr. Hull: I was referring to Lihu`e when I said that.
Councilmember Yukimura: Oh. No one is really building anything in
Lihu`e?
Mr. Hull: There are some individual units going on, that
is why I apologize as I was speaking in hyperbole when I said that. Indeed, there are
some individual units going up, but you do not see any large-scale development
projects entitled within the past year. Indeed, the Hanama`ulu project is going up
right now, but those received the permits over a decade ago. We are not seeing any
new projects coming in for entitlements.
Councilmember Yukimura: Well, there is one right beyond the Lihu`e Mill
on the mauka side that is permitted also and they are not building.
Mr. Hull: Yes.
Council Chair Rapozo: That is exactly what he said.
Councilmember Yukimura: But it is not because of a lack of R-40.
Mr. Hull: No and I was just saying that there are a lot
barriers to entry. We have one here that we see that is a possibility of reducing.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any more questions for Ka`aina? I want to
bring it back home and kind of want to get out of here before the caption break. We
can do the Executive Session during the caption break. Any more questions? If not,
thank you very much.
Mr. Hull: Thank you, Council.
Council Chair Rapozo: I will call the meeting back to order.
Councilmember Kaneshiro.
There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded
as follows:
Councilmember Kaneshiro: For me, I would just like to say that I saw the
need for this increased density also. There was a property near Hamura Saimin,
about five thousand (5,000) square feet that was for sale, a commercial property, and
I thought, "This would be the perfect property to do a mixed-use commercial on the
bottom and residential on the top," and when I looked at it, I think it was Commercial
COUNCIL MEETING 40 JANUARY 24, 2018
and R-4 or something, five thousand (5,000) square feet—that means you can only
put one (1) unit, so then you are thinking, "Okay, keep the bottom as commercial, but
you have to add a story and you can only put one (1) unit—it does not really make
sense." Then you start thinking, "What makes sense?" If you are looking at R-40,
you could put four (4) units on the top, which if you look at it and somebody says,
"What is the opportunity for this building," you could probably reasonably say
three (3) stories or two (2) stories of residential, maybe one thousand (1,000) square
foot units on each story, you would get eight (8) housing units and a commercial on
the bottom and you think, "It would kind of blend in over there and it would fit, you
are providing for housing and you are providing for commercial." But based on our
current laws, it was like "Who is going to want to take that opportunity?" There is
not really any incentive to take an opportunity to try and do this Smart Growth
development mixed-use when our zoning kind of restricts it so much that, "I am going
to buy this property and then I have to spend all of this money to only put one (1) unit
at the top," and it kind of loses steam. I think this is a good step, knowing that we
are going to get into issues of parking, but I think it definitely is a good step. I was
looking at that and getting all excited thinking, "We want to redevelop this whole
area and maybe I might want to do this," and then I am like, "This does not make
sense." You start running the numbers, how much you can get for commercial, what
it would cost to add a unit, what kind of rent, and the numbers end up in the red and
it makes no sense. Again, Ka`aina mentioned that there are many barriers to doing
something like that, but I think this helps cushion one (1) barrier, as far as making
it a little more feasible for someone to say, "Yes, the opportunity to do additional
housing units on the top of a commercial unit is there," but with the current law we
have, I do not think anybody is motivated to do any type of mixed-use with the type
of zoning we have now. I think it is promising knowing that there are other things
that we are going to have to resolve as we go along. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Again, being the "Devil's Advocate" that
four (4) units would require eight (8) parking stalls, where would that be? You would
almost have to lift that structure up so that you can provide eight (8) and is that even
enough space? But would you not love to live above Hamura Saimin and just walk
downstairs to grab your special? Anyone else? Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: I want to thank Councilmember Brun for
introducing this, but I do not agree with just doing it and saying, "Well, we are going
to figure out the parking problems later." I do not think the solution is in more
parking stalls, because the cost of construction of parking stalls that are underneath
or elevated will offset any advantage you have for having more units. The real
solution is a community solution of transit. At the Smart Growth Conference, they
tell us that all the time. That is the combination, compact growth, but you cannot do
it with a single-occupant vehicle; you have to do it with transit. That is why the
Short-Range Transit Plan and a Lihu`e shuttle is really critical to this kind of
economic development of Lihu`e.
Council Chair Rapozo: Ka`aina talked about the internal growth.
Yes, we blame the mainland people for moving here, but at the end of the day, our
families are having children. I remember Councilmember Kagawa saying, "What are
we going to tell our kids? To not have kids?" No, we cannot do that. Our families
COUNCIL MEETING 41 JANUARY 24, 2018
will grow and we have to find housing for our families. Before we find housing for
people from California, Idaho, Iowa, and Minnesota, we need to take care of our
families. When we go down this road, are we going to allow developers to have
forty (40) units per acre? There has to be a provision or something in there that will
really require them to address our internal growth and our families first. I can see
investors coming here and either buying or leasing these units and turning it for
profit and that just causes more problems and creates more people here, transient
growth and newcomers that obviously take away resources that our internal growth
supposed to be able to stay here. We have to very careful again that we are being
reactive to a very bad situation, a crisis, in housing, but we have to make sure that
the solutions that we design are going to be there for the intentions that we have,
which is taking care of our local families. Again, I look for a spirited debate as we
move forward. Councilmember Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: Chair, I concur with what you just said and
that is why I think we cannot just say "supply, supply" and not address the issue of
affordability. I do not think that any of us have objections to developers turning a
profit, as long as they have contributed to providing affordable units to our families.
But to just provide houses is not going to work and even though internal growth might
be a greater proportion than the incoming growth, if there are not affordable units,
the outflow of local people to live elsewhere is really offsetting the internal growth.
If they cannot stay here, then it is the incoming growth that we are providing for, not
those who grew up here. So affordability is key in how we provide housing.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Did I take public testimony on
this? Okay, I did not, I am sorry. I will suspend the rules.
There being no objections, the rules were suspended.
Mr. Mickens: For the record, Glenn Mickens. Thank you,
Chair. Are we still putting the cart before the horse? Yes, we need housing for people;
there is no doubt about that. Nobody would deny that. But what got us into this mess
because we did not put the infrastructure in place first before we go after it. We do
not address the traffic problem. We have to do something about it. As Joe Rosa sat
here and said that we have had one (1) road going around this island for forty (40) or
fifty (50) years, but that is what created the problem. We are talking about having
R-40 or having more dwellings building up in these areas. Yes, we can keep on talking
about it, but where are the people in cars going to go that are going into these places?
We have to address the infrastructure first. We cannot just keep on saying, "Build,
build." Whether it is Lihu`e where you are going to have this sixteen million
dollar ($16,000,000) project and reinvigorate this area. I do not think it is going to be
reinvigorated. People have gone to these shopping centers now...the "Big Box" stores
where they want to go. They are going to come back to Lihu`e, so I do not know what
that sixteen million dollars ($16,000,000) is going to go for. All I am saying is that
we have to put the infrastructure in place first, not in this small one (1), two (2) house
building out at places, but for any huge developments that are going to go on. Like
you are talking about for going up now, and certainly, like you said, Chair, we cannot
go past the house. You do not want big structures on this island, that is not going to
do it. But these places, people are going to have to build. You are going to have to
COUNCIL MEETING 42 JANUARY 24, 2018
have it, but you are still going to have to put the infrastructure in place before it
happens. Do not put it in place and then say, "We should have done it," and what we
should have done was listen to wiser people years ago that want to build that power
line road, for crying out loud...build all in a place that Joe keeps on talking about.
Anyway, these are my thoughts. I think it has to be done before it happens. That is
all. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Taylor: Chair and Members of the Council, Ken
Taylor. You folks are getting ready to spend millions of dollars trying to revitalize
Rice Street, but the only way it is going to happen is that if you increase tremendously
the population in the area, something to the magnitude of ten thousand (10,000) to
fifteen thousand (15,000) people. That is what it is going to take. We talk about
keeping the areas similar to what they are today, but that is not going to work. You
are going to have to increase the zoning to thirty (30) to forty (40) units per acre and
you are going to have to build up to four (4) stories. In this whole area, not just along
Rice Street, it is not going to work. I heard earlier on a previous...I think putting a
second unit on every property is going to solve a problem. Show me someplace in
America that that has solved a problem. You cannot show it to me. You need to
develop and you need to make a decision, are we going to solve the housing problem
and make it affordable? You make it a two-tier situation—you want forty (40) units
per acre? A certain percentage has to be affordable. Up to thirty (30) units per acre,
market rate, but if you wanted that extra forty (40) units, you go affordable housing.
That is how you are going to solve the problem. Play in this game, first of all, if you
go in here in this neighborhood, you see most of those units over here on these three
(3) or four (4) streets that go over to Walmart already have a second unit in there. If
I put a two hundred fifty (250) to three hundred (300) square foot bedroom and
bathroom on my house, I can rent it out for eight hundred fifty dollars ($850) a month.
All I have to do is install a microwave, a toaster oven, and electric fry pan. I do not
need a kitchen. Those are the kind of problems that we are facing in illegal units, but
the rent is available. I have a neighbor that has her house divided into four (4) units.
Every one of them is rented out, it is a single-family neighborhood. It is not right,
but that is what the County allows to happen. You are going to have to bite the bullet
and go to higher zoning. Thank you.
Councilmember Yukimura: I have a question.
Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead.
Councilmember Yukimura: Ken, do you support this Bill?
Mr. Taylor: I am sorry.
Councilmember Yukimura: Do you support this increase to R-40?
Mr. Taylor: I do. We have to remember that right now we
are providing free housing for cars and expensive housing for people. That does not
work.
COUNCIL MEETING 43 JANUARY 24, 2018
Council Chair Rapozo: Okay. I think you answered the question.
Councilmember Yukimura: Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Anyone else? Mr. Hart.
Mr. Hart: For the record, Bruce Hart. I was really
edified by the discussion. So I think you are all aware of the problems, even the
problems that Mr. Taylor has just presented. The problem with housing is serious.
How many times have we sat here and heard different departments saying three (3),
four (4), five (5) families living in one (1) single-family residence? It is uplifting whole
neighborhoods and changing the very character of them. I think you are all aware of
that. We are all aware of that. I am going say something that is kind of like, "Whoa,
Bruce." But for decades, we have taken the position that we cannot have any more
urban sprawl. We have built a wall and we have just taken this hardline position
that we are not going to do it. I think that we are actually a little bit fearful; we are
concerned that if we open the door, we are going to have this "Maui," and that is no
disrespect to Maui, but I think that we can do it without the floodgates opening if we
just hold our ground. I think that we need to seriously consider opening up some
areas, taking away some of the barriers, and allowing more housing. Whatever
implementations that you can put in to see that the local people are able to afford, do
it. I do not agree that we should discontinue to increase density. That is the position
that I have taken. I do not want to see development any more than anybody else.
Like Councilmember Brun said...all of you...I am concerned about the families that
live here. Where are they going to live? I am concerned with the neighborhoods that
are being impacted by this three (3), four (4) families living in homes. We are going
to have to do something. Again, I do not like having to say this, but I think we are
going to have to have more housing development. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, I will
call the meeting back to order. I think we have discussed this to death. The motion
is to refer this to the Planning Commission. Can I get a roll call, please?
There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and
proceeded as follows:
The motion to refer Proposed Draft Bill (No. 2687) to the Planning Commission
was then put, and carried by the following vote:
FOR REFERRAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL — 6,
AGAINST REFERRAL: None TOTAL — 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: Kawakami TOTAL — 1.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Can we get Councilmember
Kawakami back in the meeting so that we can wrap this last item up? Can you read
the next item?
COUNCIL MEETING 44 JANUARY 24, 2018
BILL FOR SECOND READING:
Bill No. 2677, Draft 1 — A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR BARGAINING UNIT 12
BETWEEN JULY 1, 2017 AND JUNE 30, 2021: Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to
approve Bill No. 2677, Draft 1, on second and final reading, and that it be transmitted
to the Mayor for his approval, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
Councilmember Kagawa.
Councilmember Kagawa: I want to congratulate the State of Hawai`i
Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) for the decisions that they come up with. I am
going to be supporting it. I will say that if you watch the news, these are scary times.
In O`ahu recently, you have these killings of a north shore resident. Then you have the
killing in Waikiki. These are new residents from the mainland that are bringing some
nasty violence to Honolulu and we are not far from Honolulu. We need good policemen
that can make sure that when, and if it comes, that we are ready. Scary times.
Congratulations to SHOPO on their award and I encourage them to fill those vacancies
and make sure that we continue to keep our island safe. Thank you.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? Councilmember
Yukimura.
Councilmember Yukimura: Are we going to have public testimony?
Council Chair Rapozo: I do not know if anyone is here and willing to
testify. Did we have any registered speakers? If anyone has a burning desire to testify,
then they can. If so, we are going to have to take a caption break. I was hoping to get
rid of this, and then we can go into Executive Session during the caption break, come
back, and take care of that last item. Is Councilmember Kawakami around? Did
someone tell him? I want to make sure that he is part of the rest of the meeting.
(Councilmember Kawakami was noted as present.)
Councilmember Yukimura: I have something to say.
Council Chair Rapozo: Go ahead.
Councilmember Yukimura: I have already spoken in the Committee
explaining why I will be voting against this Bill, but I want to just summarize here
that I recognize the extraordinary work of the police that does deserve a premium. I
do believe that there is a premium already in the existing pay, and as we saw, the
beginning police officer, after a year's probation, makes close to eighty thousand
dollars ($80,000) in annual compensation if you take salary, standard of conduct, and
other overtime that is normally received. We must think about other community
needs, as well as other workers. As we showed on the attachment to the Bill—if I
could have that on the overhead—if you look at the line total, it is showing that after
COUNCIL MEETING 45 JANUARY 24, 2018
four (4) years, there is three million dollars ($3,000,000) added to the County's
budget. Over the four (4) years, we are paying seven million dollars ($7,000,000), and
as I pointed out and as we have just discussed, the need for affordable housing, the
need for maintaining parks, the need to solve our homeless problem—there are so
many other needs that we have to also think about and I know that recruitment has
been an issue. Indeed that with the three million dollars ($3,000,000), we could pay
for another police beat. I know that the Chief has made a big appeal for that, but we
are not able to fill the existing positions, so not being able to do that, another beat at
this point does not make sense. I want to read from the arbitration decision what the
panel said about recruiting police officers, there has been an argument that we need
to increase pay in order to have better recruitment, and I am quoting here: "While
the panel recognizes the staffing problems raised by the union, increasing the base
salary for entry-level positions does not appear to be a viable solution to resolve the
recruitment problem in as much as the number of applications for those entry
positions between 2012 and 2017 appear to have remained relatively stable." I
suggested in committee that perhaps we should look at providing some housing,
rather than increase in salary, housing at an affordable level. While I deeply respect
our officers, I feel that we have other responsibilities as well. I also talked about the
increasing inequity between Police and Fire and other County and State workers.
There should be some discrepancy because of the extraordinary work that is done,
but when that discrepancy gets too big, it becomes very inequitable. For those
reasons, I must vote against these raises.
Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Anyone else? If not, roll call.
The motion to approve Bill No. 2677, Draft 1, on second and final reading, and
that it be transmitted to the Mayor for his approval was then put, and carried by
the following vote:
FOR APPROVAL: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Kawakami, Rapozo TOTAL– 6,
AGAINST APPROVAL: Yukimura TOTAL – 1,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL – 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL– 0.
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion passes. With that, can you read us
into Executive Session?
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
ES-938 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4,
92-5(a)(4), and Kaua`i County Charter Section 3.07(E), the Office of the County
Attorney requests an Executive Session with the Council to provide the Council with
a briefing on the Mediation of: Michael S. Kocher, Sr., individually and on behalf of
the Estate of Michael S. Kocher, Jr.; Patricia Kocher and County of Kaua`i; Irvin
Magayanes, Mediation No. 15-0482-M, and related matters. This briefing and
consultation involves consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities,
and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item.
COUNCIL MEETING 46 JANUARY 24, 2018
Councilmember Kagawa moved to convene in Executive Session for ES-938,
seconded by Councilmember Kaneshiro.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Rapozo: Seeing none, roll call.
The motion to convene in Executive Session for ES-938 was then put, and
carried by the following vote:
FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Brun, Chock, Kagawa, Kaneshiro,
Kawakami, Yukimura, Rapozo TOTAL— 7,
AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL— 0,
EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL— 0,
RECUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0.
Council Chair Rapozo: We are now going to take our caption break
and then go into Executive Session. It should not be more than ten (10) minutes. We
will come back out and finish up with C 2018-26. Also, for those of you watching,
tomorrow's Special Planning Committee Meeting will be here at 8:30 a.m. Caption
break, ten (10) minutes.
There being no objections, the meeting recessed at 10:41 a.m.
The meeting reconvened at 11:01 a.m., and proceeded as follows:
Council Chair Rapozo: We are back. Can you read C 2018-26?
There being no objections, C 2018-26 was taken out of order.
C 2018-26 Communication (01/12/2018) from the County Attorney,
requesting Council authorization to expend additional funds up to $100,000.00 in
funds from the Claims and Judgments account in relation to the Mediation of:
Michael S. Kocher, Sr., individually and on behalf of the Estate of Michael S. Kocher,
Jr.; Patricia Kocher and the County of Kaua`i; Irvin Magayanes, Mediation
No. 15-0482-M, and related matters: Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to approve
C 2018-26, seconded by Councilmember Brun.
Council Chair Rapozo: Any discussion or public testimony?
There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony.
There being no one present to provide testimony, the meeting was called back
to order, and proceeded as follows:
COUNCIL MEETING 47 JANUARY 24, 2018
The motion to approve C 2018-26 was then put, and carried by a vote of 4:0:3
(Councilmember Chock, Councilmember Kagawa, and Councilmember
Yukimura were excused).
Council Chair Rapozo: Motion carried. With that, this meeting is
adjourned. We have a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thank you.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business, the Council Meeting adjourned at 11:01 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
I1j I
JAD . FOUNTAIN-TANIGAWA
County Clerk
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