Kaua’i County has taken to the air in a stepped-up effort to track landowners who conduct unpermitted grubbing and grading on their properties. The search is underway in the skies over the North Shore and East Kaua’i. At a council
Kaua’i County has taken to the air in a stepped-up effort to track landowners who conduct unpermitted grubbing and grading on their properties.
The search is underway in the skies over the North Shore and East Kaua’i.
At a council meeting at the historic County Building Wednesday, a county representative said government officials flew over nine properties in a helicopter on June 21 and found a few cases possible unpermitted grubbing and clearing.
Kaua’i County Councilman Jimmy Tokioka recommended more aerial surveys for the entire island to prevent abuses.
“It seems prudent to us that the entire island is inspected,” Tokioka said. The council subsequently approved on first reading a $10,000 money bill for more aerial surveys, scheduling the proposal for a public hearing on July 11. The bill will be reviewed by the council committee of the whole.
But even if the county intensifies its efforts to address unpermitted work, it would still would not have enough manpower for monitoring or enforcement actions, county officials said. County employees already investigate such complaints, and the additional workload could strain their effectiveness.
The call for expanded violation checks comes on the heels of a public outcry for action against North Shore landowner James Pflueger for alleged unpermitted grading on his property in Pila’a that allegedly sent runoff and mud onto a home along the coast at Pila’a Bay on Nov. 26.
Pflueger also allegedly had culverts constructed without permits to divert water away from the home belonging to the family of Rick and Amy Marvin.
The county may take criminal action or civil action against Pflueger because of the alleged incident.
Participating in the aerial check were Wallace Kubo, an engineer with the Kaua’i County Public Works Department, Les Milnes, a county planning department inspector, Mike Laureta of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Deena Renti-Cruz, a county deputy prosecuting attorney and Councilman Randal Valenciano.
Kubo reported the group flew over:
– Puakea Golf Course, finding permitted grading, but saw work on some holes that needed a permit. As a result, the county has requested Grove Farm, the owner of the project, to apply for permits.
– Mauka areas in Kealia, spotting a clearing used for agriculture. The parcel is exempted from the county grading ordinance because the work falls under the jurisdiction of the National Resource Conservation Services, which assists farmers with agricultural pursuits and reviews their land use plans.
– Makai areas in Kealia, where no grading activities were found.
– A clearing by Kaloko reservoir on mauka land Pflueger owns in the Moloa’a area. No grubbing permit was required for the land, measuring less than an acre. However, there may be grading in the area, and the county has asked Max Graham, a Kaua’i attorney representing Pflueger, for permission to visit the site.
– Makai land Pflueger owns in Pila’a, where construction of a driveway occurred. The county has made a request to Graham for a site visit.
County officials also would like officials with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the state Department of Health to go along on the visit.
– Land owned by Moloaa Bay Ranch, where a pad for a building and terraces were constructed. Kubo said the county issued an-after-fact permit for the pad, drawing groans from audience members.
– Property in Kilauea owned by John Wells, on which grading was approved by the county.
– The bluff above Kauapea Beach, where three landslides occurred. Kubo said it didn’t appear the landslides were connected with any grading work. But councilman Gary Hooser disagreed, saying that he believed the erosion was caused by the cutting down of trees. In response, Kubo said that if the council wanted, the county would get permission from the landowner to check the damage.
– The Kalihiwai Ridge, where some grading work has occurred. County workers plan to make a site visit.
Ray Chuan of Hanalei said the county should have moved quicker against the grading on the Pila’a lands and said he was “offended by the administration” for issuing after-the-fact permits.
County officials have said they want to pursue all administrative remedies, including citations and compliance by violators, before filling court action against them.
To further put a lid on violations, councilman Bryan Baptiste suggested a county representative sit on a plan review panel of the East Kaua’i Soil Conservation Service and West Kaua’i Soil Conservation Service.
The groups are connected with the National Resource Conservation Services, a federal program to assist farmers with agricultural pursuits.
Most unpermitted activities occur on during the weekends when county employees don’t work, said Wallace Rezentes Sr., administrative assistant to Mayor Maryanne Kusaka.
The problem is so severe, Hooser said, that (we) “almost need a hotline, one person or a small team” to document complaints and follow up on them.
But people can already file complaints with the county’s public information or with him, Kubo said.
Related to Pflueger’s case, Hooser said he is not convinced work has stopped on his property.
County officials reported remedial work was under way at the property, but work involving large-scale grubbing or grading had stopped, Hooser said.
But a June 20 video tape showed a large plume of dust rising from Pflueger’s property in Pila’a, indicating ongoing work, Hooser said.
He thanked a Kaua’i resident for sending a copy of the tape to the county.
Before the county continues its investigation against Pflueger, it should immediately launch an investigation into unpermitted work in Waipake in Kilauea about a decade ago that severely damaged his family property, said Randy Rego.
Rego said he filed a complaint with Kubo, waited many years with hopes of resolution, but came up empty handed, adding “what happens, zippo.”
After the meeting, Kubo said the “process takes time, not overnight you get something done.”
In related action, the council approved $5,000 to hire an attorney to advise the council on setting up the procedure for an investigation into the problem.
County Attorney Hartwell Blake said he is concerned about the statue of limitations for action on the work at Pila’a last year.
If violations are determined, the county has 60 days from the day of the alleged violations, which are dated on Nov. 26, to take action, Blake said.
Blake said his office is researching whether the statue of limitation runs from that day or “whether failure (by government) to remedy an infraction constitutes an ongoing occurrence.”
If the council initiates an investigation, photographs going back five to ten years showing the topography of a parcel should be secured, said Council Chairman Ron Kouchi.
The photographs are likely to show changes to the landscape and could reveal what work was approved or not approve by the county, Kouchi indicated.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
