before the Show Me the Water ordinance, Maui County expected developers to provide water or to cooperate with the county in developing sources of water. Wouldn't it be better, he asked, to complete the Maui Island Plan, assess the possible resources and then propose a program to deal with it? That approach was endorsed by, among others, Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow. (The Department of Water Supply developed some sources on its own, but notably not for Upcountry, where the pressure for new meters is sharpest.)
Council vote eases ‘Show Me the Water’ ordinance
By Ilima Loomis - Staff Writer (iloomis@mauinews.com) , The Maui News
reprinted courtesy Maui News 4/11/12
WAILUKU - The Maui County Council on Tuesday gave final approval to revisions that would soften the county's "Show Me the Water" ordinance.
The council voted 9-0 for the changes, which would include allowing construction to begin on grading and infrastructure before a water source is found; the measure would not allow work to begin on homes until a water source is established.
Arnold Wong of the Iron Workers' Stabilization Fund said he believed the measure would help more projects get under way, creating jobs for union members who had traveled to the Mainland for work.
"We believe this bill will assist in bringing our members back home," he said.
Becky Collins of Stanford Carr Development urged council members to support changes to "Show Me the Water," as well as to fund new water infrastructure projects so that "someday we can look back on that bill as a piece of history."
Also Tuesday:
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* The council voted 9-0 to adopt a resolution supporting the establishment of a "complete streets" policy for Maui. Council Member Don Couch noted that the policy would establish "guidelines" for creating more walkable communities by providing paths for walking and biking.
"Every time we build a road or work on an intersection we need to be aware that young children need to be able to safely cross on their way to school," said testifier Jonathan Starr.
* Council members voted unanimously at first reading to budget $440,000 for a curbside recycling pilot program in Maui Meadows. Couch encouraged participating families to pay attention to their recycling. "Try not to mix inappropriately, and let's show the county that this can be a good project and a good start at curbside recycling," he said.
* The council voted unanimously to reject the appointments of John Noble to the Maui Redevelopment Agency and Warren Watanabe to the Kula Agricultural Park Committee. Community members had previously said Noble was disruptive and negative at public meetings, while Watanabe was disqualified to fill the Maui Farm Bureau's slot on the ag park committee. The bureau's position on the ag park committee is set aside for a Maui Farm Bureau board member. Watanabe is the bureau's executive director, but he is not a board member. Harold Davis was approved for the Real Property Tax Review Board.
* A proposal to budget $5.4 million to purchase a 40,000-square-foot lot in Waikapu was approved unanimously at first reading. The property is currently being leased by the county to provide office and warehouse space for the Maui Fire Department, noted Council Member Joe Pontanilla. "Purchasing the property at this time is more prudent than continuing to pay rent," he said.
* Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 4/11/12, original link www mauinews com/page/content.detail/id/560031/Council-vote-eases--Show-Me-the-Water--ordinance.html?nav=10
Show Me the Water stagnant, panel’s reform attempt stalls
By Harry Eagar - Staff Writer (heagar@mauinews.com) , The Maui News
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/4/12
WAILUKU - Last month a bid to sunset the "Show Me the Water" ordinance failed, and Tuesday an attempt to amend it stalled following a visit by Mayor Alan Arakawa to the County Council Water Resources Committee.
The proposed amendments would have had the effect of allowing developers to subdivide and proceed with preliminary work, even if meters were not yet available. As soon as meters did become available, their "shovel ready" projects would be ready for work.
Testifying in support of the amendments, Everett Dowling said preliminary work by such professionals as engineers, archaeologists and designers cannot be begun now. "Typically, this amounts to 10 percent of the cost of a project," he said.
In the proposed version, a landowner without meters or meter reservations could have proffered an approved engineering study to show where and how the water would be made available. The director of water supply would be allowed (or possibly required) to comment on the interagency review that would be led by the state Department of Health.
That brought a warning from the mayor. The county does not have the staff or the staff time to do the sort of review mentioned in the draft ordinance, he said.
Furthermore, the questions the director would be expected to answer already are the kuleana of the state Commission on Water Resource Management. The commission has the data and would not be obliged to give it to the county.
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Also, Arakawa said, the mandate is unclear. The director would be asked, for example, to assess effects on salinity of water wells. But how far would he have to look, Arakawa asked?
And a requirement to assess future impacts was equally troublesome, he said. A county water director cannot say what will happen 50 years in the future, even with the help of a Maui Island Plan. And even that plan would not help with assessing the planning of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which operates on its own.
There was much agreement about how the 5-year-old Show Me the Water ordinance has worked in practice, though less about how desirable the outcome has been.
Arakawa noted that when the bill was passed, "it was a big developer's bill."
That was because a would-be builder could show the water by obtaining a county meter, or if that were not available, by developing his own water resource. A number of exceptions were allowed, for example for affordable housing projects and for in-fill developments of less than, say, 10 units.
Despite the exceptions, Arakawa said, only one commercial affordable housing project, by former developer David Goode in Makawao, went forward. (Goode now serves as director of the county Department of Public Works.)
Supporters of leaving the ordinance alone, like Foster Ampong, argued that its purpose was to protect the water resource. It was not, Council Member Elle Cochran reminded Dave DeLeon of the Realtors Association of Maui, a measure to promote economic activity.
Nevertheless, those wanting to end, or at least to amend, the restrictions used the impact on economic activity as a prime argument.
Developer Charlie Jencks, in written testimony submitted in November, had noted that "every economist says the ordinance does not serve the overall interests of the county when it comes to economic growth."
That line was adopted by several testifiers Tuesday, including the Realtors Association.
Underlying the debate was who should develop the water. DeLeon and Randall Endo (who works for A&B Properties but was testifying for himself) were two of several who said the county should develop and provide water.
Long before the Show Me the Water ordinance, the county had either expected developers to provide water or to cooperate with the county in developing sources of water. (The Department of Water Supply developed some sources on its own, but notably not for Upcountry, where the pressure for new meters is sharpest.)
Since 2007, when Show Me the Water was introduced, the county has not developed water sources.
Council Member Joe Pontanilla returned again and again to the question of, if Show Me the Water were repealed, so that the county would be expected to make water available, how much money will be needed over the next five years to begin updating the water utility infrastructure?
Wouldn't it be better, he asked, to complete the Maui Island Plan, assess the possible resources and then propose a program to deal with it? That approach was endorsed by, among others, Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow.
Arakawa said that soon, even before budget deliberations begin, he will submit to the council a list of projects the Department of Water Supply thinks should be started. The list will be "in boxes," he said, meaning that the ideas will be not presented in full detail.
But it will give the council a sketch of where it could go and how much it would cost to get there.
Committee Chairman Mike Victorino deferred discussion of the proposed amendments.
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/4/12, original link www mauinews com/page/content.detail/id/556813.html
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