Felix 1 vote shy of
wedding-business appeal win

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

The city Zoning Board of Appeals has failed to reach a decision on Councilman John Henry Felix's wedding operation, dragging his continuing dispute with the Planning and Permitting Department into October.

Felix is appealing the department's decision that he is running an illegal business out of his Aina Haina home, contending that the operation falls under the legal definition of a home occupation.

Felix is being fined $100 a day for holding the wedding ceremonies and now owes the city as much as $65,500, according to a city spokeswoman. Felix told reporters he receives between $300 and $500 for each ceremony.

The appeals board yesterday voted 2-1 to side with Felix and overturn the department's decision, but three votes are needed on the five-member panel for any decision. A city attorney said that if Felix fails to garner three votes at the Oct. 18 meeting, the department's decision will stand.

Board Chairman Rick Tsujimura, one of the two who did not attend yesterday's meeting, has declared a conflict in the case before his attorney wife represents Felix on an unrelated matter. Elizabeth Riegels, believed to be out of state, is the fifth member of the commission.

Members David Minkin and Roy Irei voted to overturn the department's decision; board Vice Chairman Carl Takamura sided with the department.

A key issue outlined for the board yesterday involved the definition of "dwelling."

Fritz Rohlfing, an attorney for Felix, said the operation is legal because those working in the wedding business live on the premises as is required by the zoning ordinance, Rohlfing said.

But Ben Matsubara, a private attorney hired by the city because of a potential conflict on the part of the Corporation Counsel's Office, said Felix actually has two homes on the Aina Haina lot. The employees live in one home but conduct the weddings in the other house.

Therefore, he said, it cannot be a home occupation because the weddings are not conducted where the employees live.