Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Letters for Thursday, March 12, 2009
• Property rights stripped
• Public schools are fine
• An extraordinary moment
• Manager system needed
Property rights stripped
A few months ago we were informed by our property management company that after March 31 they would no longer be able to rent our single family home because it is on land designated agricultural and built after 1976.
Twenty-five years ago, we decided to look for land. We hoped that by renting out our home we could afford to purchase property we knew we would only visit a few times a year. We considered ocean destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, but we were concerned that our property rights might be taken away by government edict.
We purchased a single family lot on Kaua‘i because of its spectacular beauty and it was the United States. We purchased our lot in 1985 and built our home in 1990. For 19 years we have rented our home and paid GE, TA and property taxes.
For 25 years we have returned to Kaua‘i over 60 times and brought friends and family members to our island that would never have visited otherwise. Several families have rented our home for the same two weeks for over 10 years and had reservations for this year and for 2010. We had to cancel their reservations and return their deposits. Several have decided not to return this year.
We never thought that we could have our property rights taken away by government decree in the United States of America.
Shame on you Kaua‘i County Council.
Barney and Julie Feinblum, Boulder, Colo.
Public schools are fine
I am in seventh grade at Kapa‘a Middle School. I am wring because there is nothing wrong with any public middle school. I am happy and content.
Yes, there have been drugs, but all those people who did them are suspended for a very long time.
The security is also very strict. We are not allowed to have iPods, phones or other electronics, unlike some other middle schools. All those troublemakers don’t even dare act in front of the teachers. Also, all those stories about people getting high are not all true.
There are a couple of fights every once in a while, but those are just if two people are giving trouble to each other. As for the bathrooms, they do not smell like cigarettes, at least for the year I was there.
Bullies do not go around sack whacking other boys anymore. Those people are all either expelled or suspended. To top it all off, everybody gets along pretty well at our school.
Rachel “Asia” Kaden, Kapa‘a Middle School
An extraordinary moment
Patsy Mink was my number one hero in politics because she personally took the time to encourage me, helped pay my way to Washington, D.C., in the late ‘90s, and gave me the opportunity to make my first speech in front of hundreds of important women from around the country.
She told me: “Wow, you are tall, arn’t you? But you need to have a big voice. Speak out! Look at me, I’m short, but I have a big voice!”
Then, she looked up at me, with her signature look, and said: “And I bite if you get in my way!”
Then, she gave me a great big hug, and said: “You’re all right, you’re a good girl. You’ll know when the time is right. But you must run, you have to speak out. No matter what anybody says, just do it.”
When she died, I was inconsolable. I didn’t have the money to attend her funeral on O’ahu, and I was upset that there were no services planned for her on Kaua’i, so I did a memorial for her on the front lawn of the Historic County Building.
The Garden Island showed Dennis Chun on the front page along with dozens of county, state workers and regular folks that were able to pay their respects to her during their lunch hour.
At the recent film event at KCC I was able to present to Kimberlee Bassford, the producer of the film, a campaign sign of hers that was quite old. It was an extraordinary moment in my life.
Anne Punohu, Kalaheo
Manager system needed
Thank you Walter Lewis for another fine article (“Kaua‘i still waiting to employ county manager system,” Forum, March 7) on what it takes to make “A Better Kaua‘i.”
And thank you, The Garden Island, for putting his article in print so that the people have ideas for moving our island forward.
The county manager system that Walter so well details is a time-tested, successful form of government used by 60 percent of the municipalities across the U.S. and is one that will benefit all the citizens of Kaua‘i.
Please read his article carefully and support the learned and wise Carol Ann Davis-Briant on the Charter Review Commission to help her gain the support of the other six members on that commission to get this measure on the ballot for all of us to vote on.
Our county has a $220 million operating budget (CIP included) and with all due respect to our new Mayor Bernard Carvalho and all past mayors, their only requirement under our Charter for being elected and overseeing this huge amount of money is being a resident and being 30 years old.
If you personally had a portfolio of this size, wouldn’t you want an experienced, well qualified person to manage it for you? Of course you would. And this is exactly why so many other successful governments use the manager type system and why we need to follow their lead.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
• Public schools are fine
• An extraordinary moment
• Manager system needed
Property rights stripped
A few months ago we were informed by our property management company that after March 31 they would no longer be able to rent our single family home because it is on land designated agricultural and built after 1976.
Twenty-five years ago, we decided to look for land. We hoped that by renting out our home we could afford to purchase property we knew we would only visit a few times a year. We considered ocean destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, but we were concerned that our property rights might be taken away by government edict.
We purchased a single family lot on Kaua‘i because of its spectacular beauty and it was the United States. We purchased our lot in 1985 and built our home in 1990. For 19 years we have rented our home and paid GE, TA and property taxes.
For 25 years we have returned to Kaua‘i over 60 times and brought friends and family members to our island that would never have visited otherwise. Several families have rented our home for the same two weeks for over 10 years and had reservations for this year and for 2010. We had to cancel their reservations and return their deposits. Several have decided not to return this year.
We never thought that we could have our property rights taken away by government decree in the United States of America.
Shame on you Kaua‘i County Council.
Barney and Julie Feinblum, Boulder, Colo.
Public schools are fine
I am in seventh grade at Kapa‘a Middle School. I am wring because there is nothing wrong with any public middle school. I am happy and content.
Yes, there have been drugs, but all those people who did them are suspended for a very long time.
The security is also very strict. We are not allowed to have iPods, phones or other electronics, unlike some other middle schools. All those troublemakers don’t even dare act in front of the teachers. Also, all those stories about people getting high are not all true.
There are a couple of fights every once in a while, but those are just if two people are giving trouble to each other. As for the bathrooms, they do not smell like cigarettes, at least for the year I was there.
Bullies do not go around sack whacking other boys anymore. Those people are all either expelled or suspended. To top it all off, everybody gets along pretty well at our school.
Rachel “Asia” Kaden, Kapa‘a Middle School
An extraordinary moment
Patsy Mink was my number one hero in politics because she personally took the time to encourage me, helped pay my way to Washington, D.C., in the late ‘90s, and gave me the opportunity to make my first speech in front of hundreds of important women from around the country.
She told me: “Wow, you are tall, arn’t you? But you need to have a big voice. Speak out! Look at me, I’m short, but I have a big voice!”
Then, she looked up at me, with her signature look, and said: “And I bite if you get in my way!”
Then, she gave me a great big hug, and said: “You’re all right, you’re a good girl. You’ll know when the time is right. But you must run, you have to speak out. No matter what anybody says, just do it.”
When she died, I was inconsolable. I didn’t have the money to attend her funeral on O’ahu, and I was upset that there were no services planned for her on Kaua’i, so I did a memorial for her on the front lawn of the Historic County Building.
The Garden Island showed Dennis Chun on the front page along with dozens of county, state workers and regular folks that were able to pay their respects to her during their lunch hour.
At the recent film event at KCC I was able to present to Kimberlee Bassford, the producer of the film, a campaign sign of hers that was quite old. It was an extraordinary moment in my life.
Anne Punohu, Kalaheo
Manager system needed
Thank you Walter Lewis for another fine article (“Kaua‘i still waiting to employ county manager system,” Forum, March 7) on what it takes to make “A Better Kaua‘i.”
And thank you, The Garden Island, for putting his article in print so that the people have ideas for moving our island forward.
The county manager system that Walter so well details is a time-tested, successful form of government used by 60 percent of the municipalities across the U.S. and is one that will benefit all the citizens of Kaua‘i.
Please read his article carefully and support the learned and wise Carol Ann Davis-Briant on the Charter Review Commission to help her gain the support of the other six members on that commission to get this measure on the ballot for all of us to vote on.
Our county has a $220 million operating budget (CIP included) and with all due respect to our new Mayor Bernard Carvalho and all past mayors, their only requirement under our Charter for being elected and overseeing this huge amount of money is being a resident and being 30 years old.
If you personally had a portfolio of this size, wouldn’t you want an experienced, well qualified person to manage it for you? Of course you would. And this is exactly why so many other successful governments use the manager type system and why we need to follow their lead.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
Related headlines
- Public Meetings for Sunday, October 11, 2009
- Public Meetings for Sunday, August 9, 2009
- Arts & Activities for Friday, March 13, 2009
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
thehumbler wrote on Mar 12, 2009 7:57 AM:
" Each day our loving, all knowing and power hungry government changes the rules that we the people operate under. Many of these changes are unconstitutional but no one really cares. Barney and Julie lost the right to operate a rental property because activist planning commissioners and council memebers,some with a financial axe to grind, changed the law. They and numerous others have been damaged and no compensation has been given. This is not right or constitutional but the council members and commissioners know that we the people do have the money, and less money now that this right has been stripped, to fight these changes in our courts. "
g-man wrote on Mar 12, 2009 8:01 AM:
" Public schools are fine....except for the spelling error in the second sentence. "
interesting wrote on Mar 12, 2009 9:00 AM:
" while the local vs non-local debate is certainly a misguided dead-end discussion, and the (new) law cited above may very well not stand up to a constitutional challenge, i am sure in retrospect those folks with such homes could have done a better job in ensuring that what they were building or buying -- as well as what they were planning to do with that property / structure -- was compliant with all of the applicable rules and regs "
DrBFree wrote on Mar 12, 2009 9:12 AM:
" RE: property rights. Its a sticky issue here on the Islands because we are living on lands that were taken away illegally, then made right with US laws supported by big business. Although it is a shame that people who were depending upon their rental income, have lost the right, and they bring alot of business to the islands.......the prices of homes have escalated in the past 20 years so that local people and poorer haoles cannot afford to buy, and even rent. Hanalei used to be a nice town, now full of strangers or empty rental units. I don't know who is right or who is wrong......both sides have their arguments. But it is a privilege to live here, and I thank God I can afford to rent. "
kauaifred wrote on Mar 12, 2009 9:58 AM:
" To the Feinblum's. You're right, shame on the Kaua'i county council. Shame on them for allowing you to purchase this land, driving up prices and keeping it out of the hands of locals to begin with. We don't need absentee landlords, we need vibrant community members who can afford to own their own land. Sorry for your loss of income but you were taking advantage of the people who have lived here all their lives; paying taxes doesn't change that fact. "
recondog wrote on Mar 12, 2009 9:59 AM:
" numilalocal55's response is typical; Gloss over the trashing of legitimate property rights...and reduce the argument to one of "local" vs "haole". 55 doesn't realize that once one is trashed, all are trashed.
No, people like local55 are terrified of living free, and prove that the brainless have no interest in liberty: he is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. He longs for the warm, reassuring smell of the herd, and is willing to take the herdsman's whip with it. What a disgrace. "
No, people like local55 are terrified of living free, and prove that the brainless have no interest in liberty: he is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. He longs for the warm, reassuring smell of the herd, and is willing to take the herdsman's whip with it. What a disgrace. "
hulali wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:20 AM:
" Thank you Asia for your comment!
My children attend the Kapaa Middle School and were shocked when they read the article about drug use and fighting at the school. The child that wrote the article was on the same team as one of my kids and they have not exprienced anything like this at the school. The fights that they have witnessed or heard of at the school were between two angry children that was immediatly stopped by teachers and severely punished. They have never smelled cigarettes in the bathrooms or even heard of children putting Pakalolo in gum.
I am sorry if this child was traumatized by his brief encounter at the Middle School. But since he wrote his comment to the paper as part of a school assignment, it makes me wonder if he embelished the truth a little to make it more interesting.
Thank you agian, because I think the Middle School is doing a wonderful job with educating our children, not everyone can afford the $10,000.00 a year tuition that Island School charges.. "
My children attend the Kapaa Middle School and were shocked when they read the article about drug use and fighting at the school. The child that wrote the article was on the same team as one of my kids and they have not exprienced anything like this at the school. The fights that they have witnessed or heard of at the school were between two angry children that was immediatly stopped by teachers and severely punished. They have never smelled cigarettes in the bathrooms or even heard of children putting Pakalolo in gum.
I am sorry if this child was traumatized by his brief encounter at the Middle School. But since he wrote his comment to the paper as part of a school assignment, it makes me wonder if he embelished the truth a little to make it more interesting.
Thank you agian, because I think the Middle School is doing a wonderful job with educating our children, not everyone can afford the $10,000.00 a year tuition that Island School charges.. "
hulali wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:24 AM:
" g-man
Give the little girl a break on the spelling critisizm. She did a good thing and you don't even know how old she is. "
Give the little girl a break on the spelling critisizm. She did a good thing and you don't even know how old she is. "
jblinky wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:31 AM:
" Aloha numilalocal55 it is unfortunate that you seem to have a twisted take on the issue. I feel that people like you if in that same situation would feel the same way. If you are so (LOCAL) than where is your aloha? If you dont mind me asking how do you make a living? Does it have to do with tourism? And what is a REAL LOCAL? From the way you are reresenting your self in your comment I hope you are a pure Hawaiian born and raised here on KAUAI. "
manawai wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:35 AM:
" To numilalocal55 - Try to keep your xenophobic rhetoric to yourself. it doesn't reflect well on you.
To Barney and Julie Feinblum - You think back to determine whether your real estate agent or the property owner made representations to you that you could legally operate a vacation rental on the property. Since it is (apparently) zoned agricultural, Hawaii State, not County, law limits what you can do on the land. That law was in place when you bought the property in 1985. Since you have only recently discovered that your use of the property is not permitted, you might have some recourse back to anyone who represented that you could. Just my thoughts. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. "
To Barney and Julie Feinblum - You think back to determine whether your real estate agent or the property owner made representations to you that you could legally operate a vacation rental on the property. Since it is (apparently) zoned agricultural, Hawaii State, not County, law limits what you can do on the land. That law was in place when you bought the property in 1985. Since you have only recently discovered that your use of the property is not permitted, you might have some recourse back to anyone who represented that you could. Just my thoughts. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. "
hulali wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:46 AM:
" To Barney and Julie Feinblum,
Shame on you!
When you built your house in 1990 you were required to sign a Farm Dwelling Agreement in order to get your building permit. This agreement says that you can build a house IF you agree to farm the property and that family occupying the house derrives income from this farming activity. Did you do this? If you are actually using your property for farming activity as you promised then maybe I can understand your frustration with not being able to rent out your house. But if you like many others, simply signed this agreement to get the building permit and then ignored it because it was too much trouble to actually farm the land, then I have no symnpathy for you.
Actually you should have your entitlement for the residence taken away until you do farm the land. You chose to buy agricultural land and then signed the Farm Dwelling Agreement. Its people like you that drove up the price of farm land so high (due to the potential income from vacation rental activity) that real farmers cannot afford to buy the land to farm as was intended for this island. If someone signed a contract with you and failed to even attempt to comply with its simply terms, I am sure you would have run to the nearest law firm to enforce your rights. You're lucky you have gotten away with this for as long as you have.
Malama Kauai "
Shame on you!
When you built your house in 1990 you were required to sign a Farm Dwelling Agreement in order to get your building permit. This agreement says that you can build a house IF you agree to farm the property and that family occupying the house derrives income from this farming activity. Did you do this? If you are actually using your property for farming activity as you promised then maybe I can understand your frustration with not being able to rent out your house. But if you like many others, simply signed this agreement to get the building permit and then ignored it because it was too much trouble to actually farm the land, then I have no symnpathy for you.
Actually you should have your entitlement for the residence taken away until you do farm the land. You chose to buy agricultural land and then signed the Farm Dwelling Agreement. Its people like you that drove up the price of farm land so high (due to the potential income from vacation rental activity) that real farmers cannot afford to buy the land to farm as was intended for this island. If someone signed a contract with you and failed to even attempt to comply with its simply terms, I am sure you would have run to the nearest law firm to enforce your rights. You're lucky you have gotten away with this for as long as you have.
Malama Kauai "
hanaleiwahine wrote on Mar 12, 2009 12:51 PM:
" You go Asia! The problem with Middle School anywhere are the children who don't have parents that are either there for them or aren't serious about consequences. For the most part, there isn't bad kids, but bad parenting. The part I find so interesting about public versus private, is that all the teachers in public schools have background checks, but in private school the lack of background checks is a luxury. So good to see a public school student go up to bat for her school. By the way, I know who you are, and you are a great kid! Glad to have you a part of the community.
Aloha "
Aloha "
hanaleiwahine wrote on Mar 12, 2009 12:54 PM:
" You bought stolen land and now cry over the fact that you too feel how the Hawaiians feel...Get over it! And go home! "
road2hanalei wrote on Mar 12, 2009 1:31 PM:
" g-man,
What a bully! What kind of a person finds fault with a middle school student for writing a letter to the newspaper? There is a far cry between spelling errors and typing errors. I commend Rachel "Asia" Kaden for the time and effort she spent sharing her thoughts. What an amazing thing to do at her age. G-man, go pick on someone your own size! "
What a bully! What kind of a person finds fault with a middle school student for writing a letter to the newspaper? There is a far cry between spelling errors and typing errors. I commend Rachel "Asia" Kaden for the time and effort she spent sharing her thoughts. What an amazing thing to do at her age. G-man, go pick on someone your own size! "
hawaiian wrote on Mar 12, 2009 1:56 PM:
" You know i dont understand this people from the mainland? They dont like where the come from so they move to paradise, then they want to change the government? If you change it to the way of life you live in the mainland then its not paradise is it? Your always complaining about something!! The real locos that live here have been threw it all, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disaster. What do you folks do when a hurricane is coming run like scared little school kids right back too the mainland. Then turn on the tv at your house and watch what happened. You say you have been coming here for 25yrs. WELL I'VE BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS TRUE BORN HAWAIIAN!!!!! Yes things have changed but if you dont like it LEAVE IT!!! Im sure if all the mexicans bought all your land you would be very angry "
g-man wrote on Mar 12, 2009 6:23 PM:
" I understand. It was stealing candy from, well, a baby. Like the worst presdident of the U.S. once said, "Is our children learning"? "
gr808 wrote on Mar 12, 2009 11:04 PM:
" Tired of all the racism…and the go home stuff.
Did you know…1820 census of Kaua’i by Kamuali’i, the chief of this island at that time, listed 65 people as Menehune. The theory is that the first settlement of Hawaii was by peoples from the Marquesas Islands and another wave from Tahiti. The Tahitian settlers oppressed the “locals”, who fled to the mountains and were called Menahune.The Menehune were thought to be very creative, they built heiau, fishponds, roads, canoes, and houses. They lived in Hawaii well before the new settlers arrived many centuries ago to steal their land. That’s you hawaiian…did you steal this land? Or was it your ancestors that stole it?
Humanity has enough BAD history due to race, religion, creed and greed. I think ALL our ancestors (no matter who we are) made some horrible decisions based on intollerance and ignorance. Let’s not repeat history and learn to truly embrace our true human potential…one of understanding, kindness and forgiveness.
Can we just try to understand our neighbors whomever they may be and wherever they are from in spite of our differences?
Aloha- "
Did you know…1820 census of Kaua’i by Kamuali’i, the chief of this island at that time, listed 65 people as Menehune. The theory is that the first settlement of Hawaii was by peoples from the Marquesas Islands and another wave from Tahiti. The Tahitian settlers oppressed the “locals”, who fled to the mountains and were called Menahune.The Menehune were thought to be very creative, they built heiau, fishponds, roads, canoes, and houses. They lived in Hawaii well before the new settlers arrived many centuries ago to steal their land. That’s you hawaiian…did you steal this land? Or was it your ancestors that stole it?
Humanity has enough BAD history due to race, religion, creed and greed. I think ALL our ancestors (no matter who we are) made some horrible decisions based on intollerance and ignorance. Let’s not repeat history and learn to truly embrace our true human potential…one of understanding, kindness and forgiveness.
Can we just try to understand our neighbors whomever they may be and wherever they are from in spite of our differences?
Aloha- "
yelad wrote on Mar 13, 2009 9:19 AM:
" A wise man once said "the true measure of a man's character is how he handles change or adversity".
Maybe some of you should try that on for size. Face it, today's Kauai is not yesterday's Kauai. Locals and visitor's better get used to it. Reality is reality. For better or for worse. "
Maybe some of you should try that on for size. Face it, today's Kauai is not yesterday's Kauai. Locals and visitor's better get used to it. Reality is reality. For better or for worse. "
gr808 wrote on Mar 13, 2009 1:01 PM:
" Tired of all the racism…and the go home stuff.
Did you know…1820 census of Kaua’i by Kamuali’i, the chief of this island at that time, listed 65 people as Menehune. The theory is that the first settlement of Hawaii was by peoples from the Marquesas Islands and another wave from Tahiti. The Tahitian settlers oppressed the “locals”, who fled to the mountains and were called Menahune.The Menehune were thought to be very creative, they built heiau, fishponds, roads, canoes, and houses. They lived in Hawaii well before the new settlers arrived many centuries ago to steal their land. That’s you Hawaiian…did you steal this land? Or was it your ancestors that stole it?
Humanity has enough BAD history due to race, religion, creed and greed. I think ALL our ancestors (no matter who we are) made some horrible decisions based on intollerance and ignorance. Let’s not repeat history and learn to truly embrace our true human potential…one of understanding, kindness and forgiveness.
Can we just try to understand our neighbors whomever they may be and wherever they are from in spite of our differences?
Aloha- "
Did you know…1820 census of Kaua’i by Kamuali’i, the chief of this island at that time, listed 65 people as Menehune. The theory is that the first settlement of Hawaii was by peoples from the Marquesas Islands and another wave from Tahiti. The Tahitian settlers oppressed the “locals”, who fled to the mountains and were called Menahune.The Menehune were thought to be very creative, they built heiau, fishponds, roads, canoes, and houses. They lived in Hawaii well before the new settlers arrived many centuries ago to steal their land. That’s you Hawaiian…did you steal this land? Or was it your ancestors that stole it?
Humanity has enough BAD history due to race, religion, creed and greed. I think ALL our ancestors (no matter who we are) made some horrible decisions based on intollerance and ignorance. Let’s not repeat history and learn to truly embrace our true human potential…one of understanding, kindness and forgiveness.
Can we just try to understand our neighbors whomever they may be and wherever they are from in spite of our differences?
Aloha- "
Fran wrote on Mar 13, 2009 6:31 PM:
" What did you learn g-man? This is the correct spelling of president; not presdident, as you wrote. Guess it's easy to find other people's mistakes and criticize. Maybe you should try Spell Check..... "
ssdavies wrote on Mar 13, 2009 10:45 PM:
" I too am sick to death of all this racism and bigotry. I am Kauaian born and raised, as were my parents and grandparents. This "local" mentality is sickening. I was up brought better than that, I was brought up with love, aloha and tolerance and acceptance of all no matter what race....wouldn't it be nice if we all thought that way.
I feel shame and embarrassment in my soul when I hear the hatred from the "locals"
We are all dependant on the visitor industry and if you think catching more waves is more important than a future, than I am sad for you...
Half of these so called "locals" are not Hawaiian, but Filipino, Japanese etc...what makes them local? Because we are brown and not white, so we are locals.....get a grip....so stupid. "
I feel shame and embarrassment in my soul when I hear the hatred from the "locals"
We are all dependant on the visitor industry and if you think catching more waves is more important than a future, than I am sad for you...
Half of these so called "locals" are not Hawaiian, but Filipino, Japanese etc...what makes them local? Because we are brown and not white, so we are locals.....get a grip....so stupid. "
g-man wrote on Mar 14, 2009 4:27 PM:
" Hi ya fran, i don't really care, i'm not writing a letter to the paper, i'm posting on the website, so whatever. However, if I were actually submitting a letter to be published and putting my name to it, you bet i would be more careful, here on the other hand, I don't give a darn. You lose. Move along now, nothing to see. "
Fran wrote on Mar 17, 2009 5:56 AM:
" Doesn't matter g-man, you still come out looking like the person who has nothing better to do than pick on grade schoolers, which leads one to believe you either felt important as the school bully (back in grade school) or you're still striving to fit in. Guess you got nothing better to do than sit around criticizing people. Get out and go enjoy Kaua`i, you'd be amazed how much it can improve your life, your self-esteem and hopefully your horrible attitude towards life and people.......Aloha "
shanahan wrote on Mar 19, 2009 10:09 PM:
" Someone might inform the Feinbaums that, if they still want to rent their property, they could perhaps be able to by having a lawyer change the designation. The AG designation gives them a huge tax break. If they really love the house and want to visit, it might be worth paying property taxes appropriate to how the land is truly being used - as an income property. I might be wrong, but it might simply be the council's intent to put an end to some of the phoney AG desingations. "
jami674 wrote on Mar 25, 2009 1:56 PM:
" SSDavies - Thank you for your comment. I find it to be the most well thought out here on that issue. I understand the Feinbaums probably could have gotten better advice when buying & building on their property, but that was 20 years ago, so should we be blaming them completely? No. They probably have some legal jurisdiction and the new law may not stand up to the "visitors" who have owned land in the islands for many years. And yes Kaua'i (and the entire state of Hawaii) depends heavily on the tourism industry. In this economy when Hawaii tourism was down so much in 2008 and will most likely continue to dwindle, I find it surprising that some Hawaiians are being so negative toward those that frequent the islands. Drive them all away and Hawaii's financial collapse will make that which is happening in the rest of the United States look like someone dropped their wallet.
And true to what gr808 wrote - the "natives" in Hawaii have been diluted so much through the centuries like it or not by Tahitians and other Pacific Islanders. Anger is understandable but does not move the STATE of Hawaii forward in any postive way. "
And true to what gr808 wrote - the "natives" in Hawaii have been diluted so much through the centuries like it or not by Tahitians and other Pacific Islanders. Anger is understandable but does not move the STATE of Hawaii forward in any postive way. "
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
RSS
numilalocal55 wrote on Mar 12, 2009 7:19 AM: