LIHU‘E — Every now and then the Kaua‘i Planning Commission is faced with a decision to approve a mansion on agricultural land. As County Council Chair William “Kaipo” Asing said a few weeks ago, developers are smart, and always find
LIHU‘E — Every now and then the Kaua‘i Planning Commission is faced with a decision to approve a mansion on agricultural land.
As County Council Chair William “Kaipo” Asing said a few weeks ago, developers are smart, and always find loopholes in the law to have it their way.
A semi-retired, former Disney contractor, however, had an unusual request Tuesday to the commission.
Mark Hurt bought a 5.38-acre piece of agriculture-zoned land adjacent to his property, and asked the commission to withdraw an already-approved Special Management Area use permit allowing the construction of a 5,800-square-foot home.
In return, Hurt asked commissioners to approve a relatively small barn.
The property is located in the Crater Hill subdivision north of Kilauea town.
A federal wildlife habitat sits right above it and, standing on the slopes, it’s possible to see many Newell’s shearwaters and nene geese, said Avery Youn, an architect representing Hurt.
“The house that was proposed here was very modern in design, which may not be appropriate for Crater Hill,” Youn said.
Hurt made headlines years ago for building an 11,000-square-foot home in Atlanta, Ga. The story takes on a twisted note when the house in question was a fairly accurate replica of Disneyland’s “Haunted Mansion” from a movie of the same name.
But Hurt won’t be building any scary homes on Kaua‘i, or at least that’s what his architects, Youn and Bruce Whale, told commissioners at this week’s meeting in the Lihu‘e Civic Center Mo‘ikeha Building meeting room.
Hurt, who still lives in Atlanta, apparently had grand plans of retiring on Kaua‘i, spending the rest of his life enjoying the serenity of the Garden Island.
But Whale said when Hurt found out about a year ago that his next-door neighbor had been approved to build a mansion, he offered to buy the property.
So instead of building yet another large house, Hurt decided to drop the permit and ask the commission to build a barn.
Whale said Hurt bought the property for his wife, who has been involved with the humane society, and likes to rescue animals.
Hurt’s wife has already found some miniature horses and a couple of pigs and goats for her barn, Hurt said. The small farm animals will have, accordingly, a small barn.
The proposed structure will be 29 feet long by 27 feet wide, and 17 feet tall, totaling 830 square feet, a sharp contrast to a house nearly seven times larger than the barn.
But when the commissioners found out what Hurt really did for a living — he use to build animatronics for Disney — Chair Caven Raco couldn’t resist.
“So he’s a true farmer,” said Raco, causing laughter in a usually-tense meeting.
Although Hurt can still apply for a permit to build a single-family dwelling on the property, he does not have any plans for that, according to Youn.
The commission unanimously approved Hurt’s request, but included a few conditions.
The approved barn will have to meet guidelines to avoid taking of the federally-protected Newell’s shearwaters. The owner is encouraged to design a barn to meet or exceed leadership in energy-efficiency certification.
Any future structure will still require a Class IV zoning use permit, and a design review by the commission.
Given Hurt’s taste for all things scary, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine a barn modeled after any famous horror movie. The commission, however, did approve a design for a barn made mostly of cedar.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
