Thus
began my 20-part Abuse Chronicles series, which scrutinized just 25
of the hundreds of TVR certificates issued by the Kauai County
planning department since 2009. Investigations revealed serious
irregularities in each and every one, including unpermitted
remodeling and the building department's use of questionable formulas
to exempt owners from federal flood laws. As a result, many
unsuspecting visitors now occupy ground floor bedrooms in the tsunami
zone.
Research
also disclosed numerous oceanfront TVRs are using cesspools,
including some that sleep as many as 10 to 14 guests. This raises
serious concerns about ongoing contamination of marine waters with
e-coli bacteria, pharmaceuticals and other human waste. Others are
vegetating the public beach, and in one case, the county failed to
record a beach easement.
Most
significantly, however, not one of the Abuse Chronicles
property owners submitted all the documents required to prove they
were eligible for a TVR certificate. That's right. Not even one met
the legal requirements for a valuable TVR certificate, which is
issued for the life of the property, with yearly renewals. Yet they
were all approved by either the planning department or commission,
despite the missing documents.
What's
more, all but five were renewed again this year. Following a series
of public records requests and delays, Planning Director Mike Dahilig
finally released a document that showed his department had renewed 20
of the 25 TVR certificates investigated in the Abuse Chronicles.
Those that were not renewed include Kauai
Paradise House, Blue Lagoon, Love Shack, Hale Poo and Hale Hoku. It
appears they were denied simply because their renewal applications
were late. All but one is appealing.
In
the meantime, under threat of a County Council investigation, Dahilig
has been attempting to organize the TVR files. In the process, he
discovered that some 84% are lacking the full documentation to prove
eligibility.
Yet
according to an opinion from the County Attorney, all of these
improperly issued certificates must be allowed to stand because they
were approved by former Planning Director Ian Costa and his former
deputy, Imai Aiu. That opinion has not been made public. County
Attorney Al Castillo confirmed he shared the opinion with Council
Chair Jay Furfaro, who reportedly has not shared it with all of his
colleagues.
Furthermore,
a number of the Abuse Chronicles certificates were renewed before
Dahilig got the opinion, and at a time when he publicly claimed his
staff was trying to develop a process for renewal and investigating
the charges laid out in the series.
On
Wednesday, the Council is set to again consider Councilman Mel
Rapozo's resolution calling for a special Council investigation into
the TVR travesty. In the five months since it was introduced, it has
become clear the problems outlined in the Abuse Chronicles are even
deeper and more widespread than originally thought.
The
Council itself has acknowledged that the planning department
willfully failed to properly implement and enforce the TVR
ordinances, resulting in not only hundreds of improperly issued
certificates, but hundreds of totally illegal TVRs operating openly
and with impunity.
And though the Council has repeatedly offered him money to hire
extra help, Dahilig still has failed to create a TVR data base that
can be reliably used even by his own department. As a result, the
public has been entirely shut out of the process. In his most recent
email, Dahilig indicated he will be taking a hardball approach to
public records requests:
In
the future, OIP requests should not reflect questions of how much,
how many, and which ones.
As
I have mentioned, my ultimate goal is to have our working database
updated for online information and use. As you know, Mike [Laureta]
and Marissa [Valenciano] are hard at work with a number of TVR tasks
and are spread between many priorities, including information
requests which must be responded to within a short timeframe. Once my
staff can slog through the database along with the other pressing
issues, hopefully it will act as a self-service source for the
information you seek and we can avoid charging you.
In
the meantime, another worm — the so-called “dead files” — is
crawling out of the can. It seems that planning told some folks who
applied for TVRs back in 2009-10 to submit additional documentation.
And though they did, the department never acted upon their
applications. Now some of these injured parties, who weren't given certificates for which they proved themselves eligible, are preparing to sue
the county for damages.
Some
Council members have expressed concern that an investigation could be
construed as a “witch hunt,” while others said they want to move
forward, rather than dwelling in the past.
However,
the issue before the Council goes much deeper than whether to approve
the investigation to dig into the TVR debacle.
The core question now facing the Council is this: If county workers and the
Administration can unilaterally decide they do not want to implement
and enforce a law, and suffer absolutely no consequences — as
evidenced by Mayor Bernard Carvalho's re-election bid — then what
is the purpose of the Council and its law-making powers?
Comments accepted at Kauai Eclectic.
