Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Musings: Still Waiting


Though Planning Director Mike Dahilig feigned surprise to find his department's files in disarray and the vacation rental process a shambles, it's all an act. As the July 14 and July 28, 2009, planning commission minutes reveal, problems documented by the Abuse Chronicles were raised way back then. And Mike was sitting right there, advising the commission as deputy county attorney.

At both meetings, residents of Hanalei, Wainiha and Haena pointed out that many of the 33 TVRs up for approval on those dates had enclosed the ground floor in the flood zone, gotten homeowner tax-exemptions for the years they claimed to vacation rental, and were operating illegal multi-family dwellings. Yet the citizens were totally stonewalled, and all the permits were approved.

If you live in a flood zone and your downstairs has been enclosed and advertised as a vacation rental are you going to be considered for a permit?” asked Mary Lucas. “Can someone answer those questions for me?”

Dick Parks said that he had met with former planning director Ian Costa and his deputy, Imai Aiu, “twice, privately, behind the walls” and had come away with the impression “that you fellows felt that you didn't like this kind of thing [zoning violations] going on. And it is going on. So I find it strange that now we are in a meeting where you are going to blanket rubber stamp all these through. Some I think deserve to go through, others I know darn well do not and I find it strange that your recommendation is that they be accepted. I would like to know why, if you can answer that, why the change of tune all of a sudden about accepting these?”

Replied Chair Jimmy Nishida: “We wouldn't be answering questions today. We are only accepting public testimony.”

Councilman Mel Rapozo objected to Mike, Ian and Imai asking the Commission to issue permits with the caveat that approval doesn't mean the applicant is in compliance with zoning and land use laws.

They are basically asking you folks to condone the illegal activity or the unlawful activity,” said Mel, who went on to discuss the Council's rationale in passing the 2008 TVR law. “The intent was simply to make sure that these people were in compliance before we issue the registration certificate, that is the intent of the legislation. So this is basically a non-enforcement agreement, again, we have seen this coming out of the Planning Department. I think if you are not in compliance you deal with the non-compliance, you don't allow them to continue while you sort it out.”

Yet here we are, four years later, and not only are they still operating, but the planning department and commission still have not sorted it out.

As for those problematic files, people on both sides of the issue pointed out four years ago that key information was missing.

When I inspected the few files that were available there were no inspection reports in those files, there was nothing in that file to indicate approval,” said Caren Diamond. “The files were really bare.”

Avery Youn, a former county planning director who now works with landowners, expressed concerns on behalf of TVR owners charged with violations. “Well what we have been doing is we have been going into old files and trying to find the original permits that were issued just to prove that the as-built plans submitted at time of the vacation rentals were legal. However, we are finding a lot of the files are missing so it is difficult to prove these.”

Planning Commissioners, however, chose to follow the department's recommendation and approve all the permits, while putting the onus on the public to rat out the perps.  As Vice Chair (and former County Attorney) Hartwell Blake intoned (emphasis added):

"To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, [the quote is actually Thomas Jefferson's] he said the price of freedom is eternal vigilance so the price of tranquility and the peace and quiet enjoyment of your home is eternal vigilance also. We can't realistically expect the government to take care of everything.... So it takes all of us to, especially the people in the neighborhoods and the people being immediately, personally adversely impacted to keep track of what is going on and to help us to help each other. And so if something is happening then report it and report it in detail and take it upon yourself to police your own neighborhood to ensure the tranquility and peaceful enjoyment of your own home. I think that is absolutely necessary and it is not a shifting of responsibility from the County to the homeowner because once we are informed of what is happening and given enough information to act upon so that it is not all personal manao because you happen not to like your neighbor, then certainly the responsibility falls upon the County to take enforcement action."

Well, Hartwell, we've been vigilant like you and Thomas Jefferson said, and we've given the county extensive information for years now, culminating in the 19-part-and-counting Abuse Chronicles. And we're still waiting for the County to exercise its responsibility to take enforcement action. So I'm sorry Councilmembers Nadine Nakamura, JoAnn Yukimura, Ross Kagawa and Jay Furfaro, but giving planning another 90 days to come up with one enforcement action just isn't gonna cut it.

As Leilani Josselin astutely noted:

“And we've had these Aunties coming for up for how many years already trying to let you guys know where you guys are wrong, where we might be wrong, where those people might be wrong and still we just want to give them more time, more time, more time and enough is enough. And that is it.”

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't you know by now that here in the 21st century the government is never wrong. Period. The citizens can point to an enclosed downstairs and show photos and testify that this is an illegal enclosure, but if an inspector sings a paper that its not really enclosed - end of story - its not enclosed. Then the government machine backs its own, regardless of whether they are right. Its all about protecting friendships.

Joanne Jay Ross and Nadine ... You are guilty of backing up a broken bureaucracy at the expense of the citizens it is supposed to serve. You have lost your way. And its all disgustingly political. Jay especially. You approve a taxpayer funded investigation into a missing tank of gas, but bend over backwards to protect the entrenched and malfunctioning Planning Department.

Anonymous said...

Jay, Joanne, Ross and Nadine all have to go. They have now clearly aligned themselves with corruption, ineptness, incompetence and a lack of leadership. Ross - you're a joke.

Anonymous said...

TVRs are not alone as a problem with the permitting department and the rubber stamping commission. Last weeks approval of Common Ground's use permit to operate a restaurant and store on Ag zoned land from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm with only a very small vegetable garden to pretend that it is a true farm operation. For years the permitting department let CG operate in violation of the 1988 use permit granted to Guava Kai that restricted sales at the snack bar to guava and tropical fruit. There has been no enforcement, there will be no justice until heads roll. For now we are living in a banana republic.

Anonymous said...

Move back to the mainland all you unhappy transplants

Anonymous said...

im not surprised at the vote, and it seems kagawa was the one who needed to be persuaded by either jay or bernard and looks like it worked. i was so mad that i could just spit.....im not sure if the council looks at the comments on the AbChrons to weigh public sentiment, but its obvious that people are pissed. how many more years to get this right? what will they do next to try keep the people quiet? the pressure is building and if someone doesnt make a move in the county gov, bad things might happen when the people are forced take it into their own hands. Joan, can you set up a straw poll w/ some basic questions that we can vote on so to let the powers that be get an idea of how the people feel about whats going on ? like yes/no/undecided kine....maybe like;
-do you think there is corruption in the county admin Y/N/U
-do you think the system is being manipulated Y/N/U
-does big money affect county decisions Y/N/U
that kine stuff, then hopefully the decisionmakers get an idea of how long they have to DO SOMETHING before the SHTF aloha Dean

Anonymous said...

1:19 - Most of my friends are native Kaua'i folks, and nearly all of those are livid over this whole mess. They've lived their whole lives "under the thumb" and are fed up.

Anonymous said...

Questions

1: Yes- there is obvious corruption in the county of Kauai admin and county council.

2: Yes-the whole county governance from police, judicial, county departments, OPA, attorneys, county contracts and almost every action on Kauai is manipulated.

3: Yes- Big money buys you anything you want on Kauai.


With that said : What becomes of us?

Anonymous said...

Okay - I'll make a hypothetical accusation: the planning directors took bribes. The TVR owners and their attorneys committed fraud & possibly tax evasion. Ian, Imai and Mike "I'm a lying sack of crap" are (hypothetically) guilty. What does a county council investigation yield? Shouldn't this be an FBI / criminial investigation at this point? Mel, I applaud that you're bark is loud but let's call in the criminal investigators. Fraudulently submitting paperwork, county officials on the take, possible tax evasion, etc. Time to get some people behind bars and clean this sh** up. Innocent until proven guilty but the preponderance of evidence certainly leads to a conclusion of gulit or gross negligence.

Dawson said...

Predictably, the people in Kauai's government continue to behave as if they believe this isn't going to blow up in their faces, big time.

Their behavior is testament to the mind-blinding entitlement of elitism and the arrogance of corruption.

Anonymous said...

With that said : What becomes of us?

June 18, 2013 at 2:49 PM

This is America! You want clean, no dick around government, move to Singapore.

Anonymous said...

This is Kauai! I am here to Clean Kauai from the GOBAG, No DICK around government for the people, I was Born and Raised on Kauai. I will MOVE KAUAI from the Power and Control of the SYNDICATE Families!


Anonymous said...

I am UNSOLVED MURDER #19 Lauren Kagawa.

Do Not Believe what Asher said in the TGI newspaper. He is a syndicate cop that covered up the identity of Kauai's serial killer and he covered up my murder.

Anonymous said...

And like it or not, this is America. Capitalism and money talks and all that. Just sayin.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you mean that TVR process and those files.

Anonymous said...

and the feeding frenzy continues.......good work inciting the masses Joan- lets just shut down the government and all go surfing WTF... who needs any kind of leadership-everyone can surely get along just fine without anyone in charge-unless...wait for it....
Joan is going to swoop in and run for the County Council-I knew there was some reason for this blog......

Anonymous said...

That's another good reason.

Anonymous said...

dont think i want to be led , id rather be represented by those that have been voted in to reflect the will of the people, the leadership part is how to get that done thru the system, if they fail, cover up and stall, thats where leadership fails and those who represent us have failed as well...how long to get it fixed ? or just keep going the same way forever???

Anonymous said...

Part of the problem is that so few people really know what is going on. Not everyone reads this blog and TGI is not doing any serious reporting. How do we become a more informed electorate? Unlikely we get better results until more citizens understand the problems.

Anonymous said...

Those who know have to spread the word. We have 18 months until election

Anonymous said...

"How do you spread the word?" Have you been living in a rock? Social Media is the answer of course. While many of us do read the blogs, the entire world is on FaceBook (well almost). Set up a "Seeking Kauai Truth and Justice FB Page" and then stand back and watch the issue blow up at the next level.

Anonymous said...

Those civil servants believe they have jobs for life (no matter what crimes they committed) and nothing will change that except a federal investigation.

period.

Anonymous said...

1050, did it ever occur to u that maybe they are representing the will of the people? Just because things aren't going the way u like it, doesn't mean they not doing what the voters want? And did it ever occur to u 6:12am, that there's only a few people that read this thing because the silent majority either don't care, think this blog is nonsense, or actually feels disrespected by a "transplant" coming in and causing turmoil?

Anonymous said...

June 19, 2013 at 10:37 AM:

I'm sure it is the will of the people to have corruption in local government. Get real!!!

Dawson said...

"and the feeding frenzy continues.......good work inciting the masses Joan- lets just shut down the government and all go surfing WTF... who needs any kind of leadership-everyone can surely get along just fine without anyone in charge-unless...wait for it....
Joan is going to swoop in and run for the County Council-I knew there was some reason for this blog...... "


Pathetic. You wouldn't recognize a nurturing soul if she walked up and healed you.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with 10:37am.

It's only in this blog people are up in arms. I don't know how many more blog posts need to written about tvrs, this subject is getting old. it's the same information being shared, nothing new.

I'm still curious why joan hasn't written more about the AUDITORS CORRUPTION. you would think all of this blog's readers would be up in arms at the fact that the one person in charge of INVESTIGATING they county's financial practices is corrupt...nope, no one cares about that. why? oh right, because if joan investigates how one of the council's own hirees screwed the county, she wouldn't be in their golden child anymore

Joan Conrow said...

Actually, I am working on an investigation into the auditor's office and just got my requested records this week. But since you're such an asshole, I think I'll just put it on the back burner and hammer on the TVRs some more.

Anonymous said...

Good job Joan! Don't Bernard's lowlife followers ruffle your feathers.

Anonymous said...

"nurturing soul"

that's rich

Anonymous said...

"nurturing soul"

that's rich

Anonymous said...

i wasnt going to say it but i agree with the asshole in a way, that the majority of voters arent concerned unless it happens in their own backyard, which is what the people in the neighborhood have been trying to point out to the county for years and nothing is done. methinks the asshole has a dog in the game somehow, and maybe not local as the asshole tries to portray, too good spelling and punctuation, i vote the asshole is either;
-real estate agent
-contractor
-principal in a tvr
thanks joan...Dean

Anonymous said...

Dean, from a local who can spell and construct a proper sentence, fuck you.

Anonymous said...

Or attorney.

Anonymous said...

so you think because this commentator doesn't speak pigeon English they couldn't possibly be a local-wow-just goes to show the biased mentality of some of "St Joan's" followers.....

Anonymous said...

from Dean; thank you for the FU, a bit of dry humor you may have missed......you do have good writing skills which i would guess would mean you are a smart person, but somehow it doesnt make sense that you, as a smart local, seem to not give a shit that people cheat, lie, and steal from all of us...no make sense..alohaD

Anonymous said...

or property manager?

Anonymous said...

Just because I call you on your racist assumption doesn't mean that I don't care about the issues covered here.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you got your hand in the cookie jar!

Mary Lucas said...

I remember that meeting.

Yes, I did ask if "Illegally enclosing your downstairs in a flood zone, meant you wouldn't be considered for a vacation rental permit."
I was told they would not be answering questions that day. Fair enough. We didn't really need an answer, because most of us already knew the answer;

"Yes, but not only will you be considered for a permit,
we will actually give you one."

Rewarding people for bad behavior. That's the Aloha Spirit!