LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council’s Public Works Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that exempts certain agricultural structures from seeking county building permits. The bill aligns with Act 114, signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie last summer, following a law
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council’s Public Works Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that exempts certain agricultural structures from seeking county building permits. The bill aligns with Act 114, signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie last summer, following a law passed by the state Legislature.
Farmers are in support of the bill, but are saying it will bring little changes. Committee members, despite a unanimous approval, had some reservations, especially after hearing the state Legislature is working on two bills to extend the exemptions to include county building codes.
Bill 2460 now goes to the full council for second and final reading. But as far as making substantial changes in the bill, the council may have its hands tied, because it missed a deadline to tweak the state’s list of exemptions.
“The counties had until Jan. 1, 2013, to pass our own list,” Deputy County Attorney Jody Higuchi-Sayegusa said. “The state list is our list. At this point, it’s adopting what the state has already passed.”
Council Chair Jay Furfaro’s frustration with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s administration was apparent. He criticized County Engineer Larry Dill for sending a draft proposal to Councilman Ross Kagawa, chair of the Public Works Committee, only in December, which was too late for it to be timely worked before the deadline set by the state.
“Whatever we do now, it’s really a done deal,” said Furfaro, who later added that “Act 114 is pau.”
The bill has the support of the Kaua‘i Farm Bureau and the Hawai‘i State Farm Bureau. But KFB President Jerry Ornellas showed some disappointment with the scope of the bill.
Ornellas said farmers would benefit from the law by having some fees waived and saving them time in getting a structure built and notifying county officials afterwards.
“Aside from that, it really offers us nothing else, nothing really has changed, and part of it is our fault,” said Ornellas, explaining that when farmers helped draft the state bill, they were unaware the law is tied to Chapter 464 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes.
“And that is the fly on the poi … it prevents counties from superseding state law,” Ornellas said.
HRS Chapter 464 limits the exemptions to be available only to one-story buildings or structures which do not exceed an estimated cost of $40,000, and to two-story buildings which do not exceed $35,000 in estimated cost.
In previous meetings, farmers have testified against this dollar-restriction. But the restriction is a state law that can only be changed by the state Legislature.
HSFB Vice President Scott McFarland said it is too late in this year’s Legislature to introduce a proposal to amend the dollar amounts on HRS Chapter 464, but the issue is on the radar screen of the bureau to tackle it in upcoming years.
Building codes
McFarland said HSFB originally wanted the Legislature to pass an exemption from the building permitting process and building codes. But a “pull back” while crafting the state law last year, caused the building code exemption to be removed from the law.
Right now, he said, there are two bills progressing at the Legislature to exempt the same structures from complying with building codes. One of them is Senate Bill 586 and the other is House Bill 489.
“So we’re actually implementing really what has been a two-year legislative strategy to address this important need for local farmers to produce local food for local plates,” McFarland said.
KFB Executive Administrator Melissa McFerrin said an education component will be needed for the farmers, because not all of them are building experts.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura criticized the bills proposing to exempt ag structures from building codes, saying the whole effort was counter productive.
“It’s trying to change county building codes without doing it at the county level,” she said.
There is an effort to modify building codes administered by the county, she said, and when state lawmakers do a “broad-brush” effort, they create a lot of problems at the local level.
Regarding the county bill exempting permits, Councilman Tim Bynum said he was in support of it, but taking it beyond that to include building code exemptions, he said he had concerns related to health and safety.
“You exempt building codes, basically you’re saying, ‘Hey, farmer, you could build whatever you want, whether it’s safe or not. … You just got to tell us at the end what you built, and you don’t even have to show you complied with building codes,’” he said. “Is that really what we want to support?”
To Ornellas, there are already certain exemptions to building codes; all that farmers are asking for is similar treatment, he said.
“If I want to build a structure over my compost pile to protect it from the weather, I want to be protected by the county from my millionaire gentleman estate neighbor from harassment,” Ornellas said. “We’re talking about very simple structures for the most part.”
‘Very troubling’
Councilman Gary Hooser supported the county bill at committee level, but said he may vote against it when it comes up before the full council.
“I’m disappointed that the natural progression of things in the farm bureau’s mind is to go from no permits to no permitting regulations to no laws at all that the county can pass,” he said. “And that’s the goal as outlined here today, and I find that very, very troubling.”
Hooser said he wants to help farmers as much as anyone, but laws have been passed allowing ag tourism and all other things.
He said he still believes if staff at the County Attorney’s Office looks “a little deeper,” they could find ways to amend Bill 2460 to strengthen the bill to address some of his concerns.
There is a paragraph in the bill which states that a written notification and certificate of compliance shall be provided to the county within 30 days of completion, or else the building permit exemption may be voided and result in an unpermitted structure.
Hooser said he believes the council could make this paragraph “a little stronger,” and would consult with county attorneys about it.
Kagawa said he hopes the bill will help farmers grow more food here, which is what Kaua‘i needs for sustainability.
Before calling for the vote on a motion to approve the bill, Kagawa already had the outcome laid out.
“We had to do what we did … the state Legislature already decided it,” he said. “We have to pass this and that is why I’m supporting it.”
The bill is now out of Kagawa’s committee, and into the full council’s hands.
The Hawai‘i Farm Bureau vice president’s name is Scott McFarland. A previous version of this story incorrectly states his last name as MacFarland. Additionally, the word “may” was added to the headline in the online version, as the Kaua‘i County Council still has to approve the recommendation of its Public Works Committee.
