NAWILIWILI — Kaua‘i County Council member on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill to strengthen a law regulating peddling at county parks and facilities, but they left it up to the Parks and Recreation Department to create the specific rules required
NAWILIWILI — Kaua‘i County Council member on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill to strengthen a law regulating peddling at county parks and facilities, but they left it up to the Parks and Recreation Department to create the specific rules required to enforce it.
“There’s certain expectations of the rules and permitting, but that has to be done by the Parks Department, not by the council,” Council Chair Jay Furfaro said Monday.
Bill 2406 covers all county parks and also parks under county jurisdiction in which there are commercial activities such as surfing lessons, scuba diving and weddings, he said.
The county has been waiting for a long time for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to set rules regulating commercial activities at beaches on Kaua‘i, Furfaro said. The bill is “basically a mandate” enabling the county to regulate those activities, he said.
“This is not about terminating activities, this is about regulating,” Furfaro said.
The ordinance, he said, deals with strengthening the rules yet to be established by the Parks and Recreation Department.
“Right now there’s no rules that have been formulated,” Furfaro said. “The action by the council only says ‘by ordinance the Parks Department will be mandated to create those rules and regulations.’”
This process will include a public hearings.
“That’s what we are really waiting for, for the Parks Department to launch the public hearings about creating rules, and then establishing those rules,” Furfaro said. “Once those rules are established, then of course they are enforceable.”
Stronger bill
The ordinance’s previous version stated that it was unlawful to engage in peddling without a valid peddler’s license. The amended version requires the peddler to have the permit in his or her possession.
The modified bill also clarifies that a peddler’s permit should be issued by the director of Parks and Recreation.
Other changes include prohibiting peddling without a proper permit in any areas between the ocean and the abutting property line, “including, but not limited to, parking lots and county parks on the island of Kaua‘i.”
The bill states that evidence includes the presence of a peddler without a permit in county parks, playgrounds, beaches, alongside county roads or other areas subject to county jurisdiction, “with his or her employer’s goods, wares, novelties, merchandise, foodstuffs, refreshments or other property or services.”
Bill 2406 was sent over last week to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. for final approval.
Go to www.kauai.gov for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
Chapter 23, Article 3, Kaua‘i County Code1987:
“‘Peddler’ means a person or persons in the business of travelingabout carrying goods, wares, food, or merchandise for sale and/orrental to consumers, or any person traveling about selling,renting, or offering for sale, or rent, soliciting orders for orinviting attention to or promoting in any manner whatsoever,directly or indirectly, goods, wares, merchandise, foodstuffs,refreshments or other kinds of property or services, or todistribute commercial handbills, or carry on or conduct anycommercial promotional scheme, advertising programs or similaractivity, or any person or persons in business of delivering food,foodstuffs, or refreshments to consumers at a place other than thepeddler’s fixed place of business, or any person or persons in thebusiness of traveling about to deliver food, foodstuffs, orrefreshments to consumers, or any person or persons engaged in thebusiness or service of providing sport or recreational activitiesor rental of equipment therefore for commercial gain on either afee basis or a donation in lieu of a fee and activities associatedtherewith, including but not limited to loading and unloading ofpassengers, transporting passengers, parking, or traversing overand through county parks.”
