In July and August, both the Leeward and Windward Planning Commissions of Hawaiʻi County approved a recommendation that the County Council change the county’s zoning ordinance and county code to allow for a range of activities at the county’s two … Continued
Over the past several years, members of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources have questioned Ross Smith of the Department of Transportation’s Airports Division about some of his requests for board approval of direct leases. Why, they wondered, … Continued
On August 13, the state Land Use Commission unanimously approved a petition from Hawaiʻi County for a declaratory order confirming that short-term vacation rentals (STVR) are not acceptable uses of farm dwellings in the Agricultural District. The commission also denied … Continued
On August 13, the state Land Use Commission voted to grant Hawaiʻi County’s petition for a declaratory ruling that short-term vacation rentals are not allowed for dwellings in the state Agricultural District. In so doing, it agreed with the county’s … Continued
On August 14, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved a Pearl Harbor Water Shortage Plan, which dictates how the commission will determine when there is a water shortage and the actions various types of permitted users of the … Continued
FKW Injury: Another false killer whale has been injured in an interaction with the Hawai‘i longline fishery. This time, the interaction occurred when a shallow-set longliner targeting swordfish hooked the animal, making it an extremely unusual event. Interactions between false killer whales and longliners … Continued
By all accounts, the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP), prepared by contractors for the University of Hawai‘i and adopted on April 9 by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, isn’t what it should be. Even its authors … Continued
The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been under pressure in recent years to transition, where appropriate, long-held revocable permits to a long-term disposition, be it a lease or an easement. But in the case of a nine-acre lot … Continued
What Maui County thought would be a slam-dunk request to the state Land Use Commission turned out to be anything but. Last month, the county went before the LUC with a request to have it extend, and expand by more … Continued