LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council’s Planning Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to approve Bill 2439, which would create a special account where civil fines levied by the county Planning Department would be deposited. Those funds would then be available for
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council’s Planning Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to approve Bill 2439, which would create a special account where civil fines levied by the county Planning Department would be deposited.
Those funds would then be available for the department to carry out enforcement of zoning violations.
“We had some concerns at the last meeting relating to the language or verbiage,” Councilman Mel Rapozo said.
“The major change in this amendment is to limit the expenditure of the fines to retain independent contractors to assist in the enforcement of the (County Zoning Ordinance) and other codes, statutes or regulations.”
The Planning Department was recently granted authority to levy fines through a different ordinance, which allows for the collection of up to $10,000 per day for zoning violations which have not been corrected after proper notice.
Bill 2439 would allow for up to $100,000 to be kept in a special fund, with the remaining revenues being put into the county’s General Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
The fines collected could be appropriated for hiring individuals to assist in the enforcement of violations, as well as for materials, supplies and equipment to facilitate inspection and enforcement.
On Tuesday, Rapozo said he appreciated the committee’s approval of the amendment and believes it to be an important piece of legislation that “gives the Planning Department the tools and the resources to go out and effectively enforce.”
“This is a tough part, getting the law passed,” he said. “The second part is getting the Planning Department to go out and enforce (it).”
Rapozo compared the ordinance to drug enforcement.
“We take money from drug dealers and then we spend the drug dealers’ monies to further enforce the drug laws,” he said. “It’s like this. We’re taking the monies from illegal violators of our code, all the codes, and we use that money to go after and enforce the code. I’m hoping we can get the council’s support next week, at the full council, and get this in action.”
The decision came after a 20-minute executive session, in which the five members of the committee were briefed behind closed doors by the county attorney on matters related to the bill.
Bill 2439 now goes before the full council next week for second and final reading.
