Felix appeals order
to stop weddings

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

City Councilman John Henry Felix is appealing an order from the city Planning and Permitting Department to stop wedding ceremonies at his Aina Haina estate.

Felix submitted his request yesterday to the city Zoning Board of Appeals, which is expected to take up the matter by February.

And Felix will not pay an initial $500 fine that is due Monday, said Don Clegg, a consultant for the councilman.

"You only pay fines when you're guilty," Clegg said. "Until the process determines we are wrong, we will not pay any fines."

In the meantime, a daily fine of $100 has been accumulating since Dec. 9 and, as of yesterday, totaled $1,400, according to city spokeswoman Carol Costa.

"He's supposed to notify us if he has stopped holding weddings and he hasn't done it," she said.

About 75 ceremonies -- at a minimum charge of $300 each -- have been conducted on the Kalanianaole Highway property since mid-September, generating traffic complaints from nearby residents.

Commercial wedding ceremonies in residential districts are prohibited by the city Land Use Ordinance.

But according to Clegg, who was previously the director of land use and planning, the operation is legal because it is a home occupation.

The rules for home occupation allow for the services, provided the primary use is a home and those working there are residents, as Felix has contended, he said.

"If people are concerned about it, then the law should be changed," Clegg said.

"Every legal commercial activity not expressly prohibited by the (Land Use Ordinance) is permitted as a home occupation provided you follow the rules."

Felix said some news accounts of the issue have been unfair.

"There's a legitimate difference of opinion here," he said, noting that ceremonies have taken place at his residence since 1972.

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