HILO >> A bill to end "do-it-yourself" rezoning on rural Big Island land will be considered by the Hawaii County Council tomorrow. Big Isle Council targets
zoning loopholesBy Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comThe bill would end the use of state condominium laws to create small parcels of land out of bigger pieces without the time, expense and uncertainty of following the county subdivision law.
Although the word "condominium" usually suggests an apartment-like building, the proposed change would affect only land and houses, not multi-unit buildings.
The process for subdividing land can be complex and costly.
"It (the outcome) ranges from 'not too bad' to you 'don't get it,'" said county planning director Chris Yuen. A typical cost can be $10,000.
People have been able to bypass that process by simply filing condominium papers with the state describing new parcels as new "apartments."
"The definition of 'apartment' is very broad and can include a tool shed, a parking lot, a portion of a warehouse, a portion of a loading dock, a lobby or front desk area in a condo hotel, etc.," the pending bill says.
"This completely destroys the intent of the minimum lot size established by zoning, and is, in effect, do-it-yourself rezoning," the bill says.
The harm was that small parcels created this way often lacked adequate roads, water and other services, or simply planted houses on good farm land.
Using a 2000 state law that limits the practice, Yuen slowed such condominium land divisions to one or two dozen per year from the previous 200 per year.
The pending bill would require rural condominium proposals to go through the same tough procedures as subdivision proposals.
While that would slow creation of large housing tracts, it would also hurt "the little guy," critics say.
Councilwoman Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd described the example of two related couples in separate houses on the same property.
By making each house a separate condominium unit, one couple could get a second mortgage to expand their home without forcing the other couple to co-sign for the debt, she said.
"We are going to pass this in some form," Leithead-Todd said.
The question is how broad to make the exemptions, she said.
County Council of Hawaii
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HILO >> Hawaii County Planning Director Chris Yuen says he is open to the idea of creating a 6,000-acre agricultural condominium in the Big Island's Kau District. Savio proposes ‘intriguing’
way to subdivide
C. Brewer rural lands
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comYuen has sharply limited the use of state condominium laws on rural land, but he said he is considering the 6,000-acre proposal put forth by Honolulu real estate developer Peter Savio.
"There is something intriguing in what he wants to do," Yuen said.
Savio says he plans to buy the former sugar land from C. Brewer & Co. for $16 million. He would then resell it in parcels of five to 10 acres each, with priority given to farmers already leasing parcels and other residents in the Kau District.
The price to buyers would be "cost plus," meaning Savio's purchase costs, a 2 percent profit for Savio and costs to set up a condominium association to care for common areas such as roads.
A unique feature of the proposal is a trust fund, from which the salary of a condominium manager would be paid, plus other expenses such as road and equipment maintenance and possibly the salary of a marketing manager.
The condominium laws have been used in the past to create "gentleman farms" where no real farming is done. Yuen's standard now is, "You'd have to show this was good for farming."
Savio's proposal passes that hurdle, but another is the minimum 20-acre lot size in the area. Savio may have to apply to have the land rezoned.
Kau community reaction has been mixed.
"We all want to buy the land," said community leader Anna Cariaga. But people are also uncertain about costs, she said.
"Time is going. We need to know," she said.
Savio's cost to buy just the land works out to under $2,700 per acre, but with other costs added, he is proposing a price to buyers of about $5,000 per acre.
Some people think they can get the land cheaper by forming a group to buy directly from C. Brewer, but that would not give them the individual ownership they would receive from application of the condominium law, she said.