Musings: Odd, Even Fishy

There was irony in the state Land Board's decision to levy a $31,000 fine against PUC Chair Mina Morita and her husband, Lance Laney, and order them to stop operating two vacation rentals in Hanalei Valley.

It's this: If they were under county jurisdiction, they'd still be operating with impunity. Even if they had lied on a sworn affidavit, falsified documents or never bothered to apply for a county permit at all, they'd still be open, just like all the other illegal TVRs.

If their vacation rental had been on state conservation land in Haena, they'd still be operating with impunity, like all the other illegal TVRs the state has failed to shut down there. More on that in a minute.

And most importantly, if Mina hadn't pissed off Hanalei boatyard owner Mike Sheehan and Gov. Neil Abercrombie's wealthy contributors, they'd still be operating with impunity.

Because it strikes me as rather odd, even fishy, that twice the state contacted Lance about the structures on their property — in 1996 and again in 2008 — and twice Lance responded. Both times, he heard nothing back. But now, 18 years after the first contact, and six years after the second, they're dinged. 

Just when the guv wants to dump Mina for someone more business-friendly and Sheehan is badgering Office of Coastal and Conservation Lands (OCCL) for enforcement action.

Action that was intentionally “leaked” to The Garden Island before Mina and Lance had even received notification, and while she was in the midst of a political drama over her reappointment to the PUC.

Yeah, it's all fishy enough to smell pretty stink.

Getting back to those illegal TVRs on state conservation land at Wainiha-Haena. Last Friday, in making his case to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, OCCL director Sam Lemmo claimed that his division was actively enforcing against TVRs on lands under state authority, hence the need to make an example of Mina.

And I immediately flashed back to how former Deputy Prosecutor Jake Delaplane and his boss, defeated Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri, claimed they were enforcing against numerous zoning violators. But somehow, only Councilman Tim Bynum got hit with criminal charges.

So where is the evidence of all that supposed state enforcement? There is none, because it's still business as usual — even though those property owners built their homes under a conservation district use permit that specifically prohibited commercial uses.

As proof, one need only consult county real property tax records. In 2013, the county employed a “use”-based approach to real property taxation, based on a questionnaire sent to property owners.

In 2014, eight Conservation District parcels again admitted to illegal and unpermitted TVR use. The county classified them as vacation rentals for tax purposes, even though none have the county certificates required to operate a TVR on Kauai and none are allowed such a use on conservation land.

One $3.9 million property belongs to Joe Paskal, who isn't on Sheehan's shit list because he backed commercial tour boats in Hanalei. Then there's David Kuraoka's “Makana Lani.” He did get fined, but is fighting it and apparently still operating in the meantime. Next is Edward Hayes with his “Uncle Ed’s Cottage.”

Then there's the $2.99 million Moore property and the $5.53 million “Waipuna” TVR owned by the Honolulu-based KTK Family Limited Partnership. Though the state did levy a $15,000 fine against the Stice property, which was then sold and the house demolished, the TVR classification remains.

Oh, and let's not forget the $5.2 million house owned by the Guslander Trust, or the $4.2 million “Rice Haena Point House” owned by the Honolulu-based Haena Trust. No political connections there.

So even as the other illegal uses continue, Mina and Lance got a hefty fine, and were the only ones ordered to remove two structures, only one of which was being used as a TVR. And this is happening even though their use agreement with the state did not expressly prohibit commercial uses, as is the case on conservation lands.

I'm not trying to drum up sympathy for Mina and Lance. 

It's the unequal treatment that grates.

Because once again, we see the county and state taking one of two approaches to enforcement: blind eye, or retaliation.

Instead of treating everyone equally, both the state and county cherry pick their cases, targeting those who fall into political disfavor, or fail to secure the services of an attorney previously employed by the county. The county has allowed many others to simply come into compliance, though their permits should've been revoked because the renewals were so delinquent or they failed to submit the proper documents.

In short, some TVR owners are getting creamed, while others are allowed to keeping skimming off the cream.

Is it any wonder that people have so little faith in “the system?”