A Vacation Rental on Kona Ag Land Operates With No Permit for Years
At a hearing of the Hawaiʻi County Board of Appeals last August, neighbors of a 10,000-square-foot house in the state Agricultural Land Use District challenged the decision of the planning director dismissing their complaints that the fellow who managed the … Continued
Editorial: Hawaiʻi County Policy on TVRs in Ag District: It’s a Mess
What, exactly, is going on in Hawaiʻi County? Its own laws and rules specifically forbid the operation of vacation rentals on properties that lie within the state Agricultural District. It passed an ordinance in 2018 that limits these uses to … Continued
How Hawaiʻi County Comes Up With So Many Non-Conforming Lots
Here’s a puzzle. A large house on a five-acre lot in the state Agricultural District is rented out to tourists for more than $700 a night, according to a recent listing on the VRBO website. Inside, near the kitchen door, … Continued
New & Noteworthy: Kauaʻi Water Decision, DBCP Lawsuit, and a Correction
Kauaʻi Water Decision: On September 30, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources should not have denied contested case hearing requests by Kia‘i Wai O Wai‘ale‘ale and Friends of Māhāʻulepū over revocable permits … Continued
Low East Maui Stream Flow Raises Questions About How to Meet User Needs During Drought
Do the interim instream flow standards for East Maui need to be revised again to meet off-stream uses in Upcountry and Central Maui? Even when the current flow standards haven’t been fully implemented? On October 27, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ran … Continued
Court Instructs Board to Better Manage Water Diversions from East Maui Streams
On October 29, Environmental Court Judge Lisa W. Cataldo issued an opinion in the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi’s appeal of a June 30, 2022, contested case decision by the Board of Land and Natural Resources to approve revocable permits allowing … Continued
Honolulu Wins Summary Judgment In Case of SMA Permit at Marconi
On October 21, U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake granted the motion for summary judgment brought by the City & County of Honolulu and Department of Planning and Permitting Director Dawn Apuna in a case brought two years ago by … Continued
Hawaiʻi County Presses ICA To Allow Vacation Rentals on Ag Land
More than a year ago – September 2024 – the state Supreme Court issued a ruling on the question of whether short-term vacation rentals are allowed on land in the state Agricultural District. The answer was a resounding no. The … Continued