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As the YouTube caption notes…
Occupy Hilo and other concerned folks from all over the Big Island gathered to give testimony against a terribly written and horribly unfair building code. After the particularly passionate testimony of one citizen, several people marched out of the council chamber and to the mayor’s office chanting “Kill this Bill.” After this, the council chamber doors were locked and police were called to the scene.
Now, I had attended this event for the first two hours, but, I had to leave before all the fireworks, since I had numerous errands to run before I had to head up to Mauna Kea for my night shift. This YouTube clip shows when the cops first arrived…! I should add that R.J. Hampton is the first individual featured in that clip…!
Cutting to the chase, finally an Occupy Hilo event made a splash in our local rag…
Council passes controversial building code measure…
…An unruly crowd chanting “kill the bill” forced two recesses of a County Council meeting Wednesday and brought a dozen police officers to council chambers.
At issue was the county building code, which went through its seventh draft as the council tried to find common ground between the public and the Department of Public Works, while meeting state and federal deadlines for an updated code. The council later in the evening passed the new code 7-2, with Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong and South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford voting no.
Yagong said the abrupt recesses — one of which lasted almost two hours as uniformed police officers flowed into chambers, ordered the crowd outside and reviewed a video of testimony that sparked the outrage and caused fear among council members — was unprecedented in his years in county government. {snip}
…Puna Councilman Fred Blas in particular felt targeted when R.J. Hampton, aide to former Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole, singled him out in a diatribe from the testifiers’ table, saying he was a “cancer” with an agenda to benefit his own property holdings and letting his constituency down by not advocating on their behalf.
After the room was cleared, police escorted Blas back to his office. Blas told West Hawaii Today later that he felt threatened, but he declined to elaborate…
…The latest concern for protesters is a section on “substandard” structures that opponents said was added to the code without the proper Ramseyer formatting, so the public couldn’t see what was added and struck through in the bill. DPW Deputy Director Brandon Gonzalez said the substandard language came from a separate county housing code that was merged with the building code.
Most of the 48 people offering public testimony also objected to the inclusion of safe rooms and the potential for fines and imprisonment for those not bringing their structures up to code.
An estimated 30 percent of structures on the Big Island are not up to code, according to council members.
“As if the homeless problem is not bad enough, this bill as written will create even more homelessness,” said Puna resident Bob Petricci. “These building codes are a very big part of the reason we have so many foreclosures right now. They have driven the cost of homes so high that people had to borrow beyond their means just to have what you call an affordable home…
Ain’t it funny that Councilman Fred Blas is a retired HPD Major, and had just supplanted Emily Naeole, running on a ‘Law and Order’ ticket…? He absolutely despises, any and all DFH’s…!
Needless to say, another battle has been lost, but, the War ain’t over…!
Occupy Everywhere…!
21 Comments
We will not go quietly into the night.
I most certainly won’t, tambershall…! ;-)
Thanks CTuttle.
recommended.
Excellent action, and excellent report.
Recommended.
Imprisonment? For code violations?
Ctut, can you be more specific? Is there a time limit for bringing houses up to code, or must it be done on transfer of the property, or what’s the specific that makes it terrible? (not doubting you at all, just wondering. Details, please!)
If jail is really a possibility, then we have really moved into another dimension.
It’s bad enough that it is now routine for people exercising their rights of speech and assembly to be arrested and hauled away.
If the rules require Ramseyer formatting prior to debate, and the Council passed it without the proper formatting, you may be able to get it overturned. You can force the Council to do its job properly.
Also, what was the thing about safe rooms? Are they required in the code or something?
All in all, it sounds like a repeat of the County formation debacle following Statehood in 1960: The Lege has said, “If you don’t do it yourself, we’re going to tell you how it’s done.”
Mahalo, Jane…! *g*
Seriously, tj, some of the violations can bring up to one year in prison, but, that’s not all, basically any major work(and even most minor repairs) needs to be done by a ‘licensed’ Contractor, it truly is a boondoggle of a bill…! 8-(
It is a major violation of our Sunshine law, and one that we will take to court if the Mayor signs it into law, which we’re pretty sure he will…! 8-(
Book Salon up with Jeff Clements’ Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It hosted by George Zornick
HSA 91-4 requires publication of rules prior to their adoption. In the case notes, Section 91-4.1 appears to require Ramsayer formatting. Although one councilcritter said the section is adopted from another source, it remains an addition to the building code, and should be marked as such. Additionally, if the section was adopted in its entirety, it should have been adopted by reference, or at the least, a reference to the source should have been given.
Recommended CTut good job. Isn’t it amazing how creative the PTB are in trying to marginalize and suppress the American People? I think we are in for some dark days ahead.
CT –
Two questions:
1. The reference to “safe rooms”. Is that the same as panic rooms? Is this an indication of favoring rich folks (who need and can afford panic rooms) at the expense of regular folks?
2. The “minor repairs” by a contractor provision: Does that mean you can’t even do it yourself? Or get your brother-in-law to help on Saturday?
Yes to both Questions, BP…! One of our major beefs is that there’s no real definition of what a ‘safe room’ is, nor where it should be located…! All our single walled Plantation Houses cannot even be brought up to that absurd level…! And, in regards to the repairs, even replacing a sink or toilet needs to be done by a professional…! 8-(
I am utterly confused.
What is in the new code that everyone objects to? We are quite in favor of extensive regulation when it comes to writing mortgage loans for buildings, but we are opposed to rules that relate to safety?
whoops, meant to continue.
Where I live, building codes only apply prospectively. Any building permit that was issued under a prior regulation is grandfathered into compliance. It is only for new buildings and renovations that require meeting the new code.
Even the ‘grandfathered’ houses still require all repairs must be done professionally, and, another insidious move was to ban all Tents in residential areas…! You can’t erect any tents whatsoever, one testifier noted that the ban even extends to kids’ camping out, if the tent is up longer than 3 days…! 8-(
Great report, I’d like to hear more from these folks in Hilo!
Thanks, CT!
Most residential construction prior to 1970 in Hawaii is single-wall homes on a post-and-beam foundation. It is a construction method that would never work except in a climate like Hawaii’s. The walls are usually tongue-and-groove, and the whole affair is held up by a 2 by 6 belt around the house at about waist height.
There are variants, of course. The most common variant in flat-enough areas is slab-on-grade.
This sort of construction protects the occupants from the wind and rain, and not much else. They will not hold up under hurricane force winds.
Most have been retro-fitted with hurricane bracing, tho, tin roofing is still suspect, there was a big state-wide push, shortly after Iniki that had the state/counties providing it mostly free, and/or heavily subsidized with tax breaks, etc…!
We went through the edge of a small hurricane in 1966(?). We lived in Hilo then. That was frightening enough, and I don’t ever need to go through a for-real hurricane.
I’m glad to hear they’ve reinforced the houses.