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Farm workers plead for housing
By Michael Levine - The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — Dozens of Kaua‘i farmers stuffed Council Chambers Wednesday afternoon, voicing their support for a proposed bill that would clear the way for farm worker housing and provide much-needed support for the agriculture industry.
“I believe there is a strong consensus on this island that we need to grow more of our food — for our security, our health and our economy,” former County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said in written testimony. “We will not be able to do this without addressing the need for farm worker housing.”
Bill No. 2813, if passed, would amend Section 8-1.5 of the Kaua‘i County Code by adding to the list of definitions entries for “farm,” “farm worker,” and “farm worker housing.” It would also amend Section 8-7.3 of the code to include farm worker housing as one of 15 uses and structures that require a use permit in agricultural districts.
With the room packed with a standing-room-only crowd that could have made the fire chief cringe, farmer after farmer took to the microphone to ask the council to pass the legislation. Many said the current terms of the bill — which was amended by the Planning Department and Planning Commission — were too restrictive in its definitions and might not do enough for new or prospective farmers.
Specifically, some farmers asked that the requirement that the term “farm worker” refer to an employee who works no less than 14 hours per week, rather than the 19-hour minimum currently in the proposed legislation.
Also, one farmer complained that the definition “Farm worker housing means housing over and above the residential density allowed in the Agriculture District ... (on) a farm that has generated at least $35,000 of gross sales of agricultural products per year, for the preceding two consecutive years, for each farm worker housing unit on the lot” should be reduced to $12,000 or be removed altogether.
“Be careful about putting money in the definition of a farm,” Moloa‘a farmer Scott Pomeroy said. “There’s no doubt that ag land needs to be protected ... it’s just that the business of farming ... has been to extract as much money or product out of an acre of land as possible. That’s led to severe depletion of the soil” and puts more and more pressure on the farmers.
Another Moloa‘a farmer, Scott Neuman, said money could probably do better in a savings account than in a farm, but that Kaua‘i farmers put their hearts, souls and money “where their mouths are.”
“The profit is minimal with back-breaking work,” he said.
His wife, Linda, said she has lived illegally on their 10-acre farm for seven years because she has no choice.
“Passing this bill shows the community your support for family farming,” she said. “We need help.”
Planning Committee Chair and Council Vice Chair Jay Furfaro, who introduced Bill No. 2813 last month, said that accomplishing all the bill set out to do is “easier said than done.” He said removing a requirement for a use permit could create the potential for a lot of abuse, and added that some issues may have to be addressed through an upcoming update to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. In short, Farm Worker Housing legislation is not a cure-all.
“I am looking forward to the Planning Committee meeting next week to work out some of the details,” Furfaro said in an interview during a caption break, with all but a few chairs full of yet-to-testify farmers.
“Why can’t we feed ourselves? We have the Garden Island here, so where’s the garden?” asked Keone Kealoha of Malama Kaua‘i in his testimony. “This is something that we have the ability to manage ourselves. ... I think that together we can figure out what those details are.”
Bill 2813 Timeline
• June 3 — Introduced by Jay Furfaro, passed on first reading by a 7-0 vote
• July 8 — Public hearing held, dozens of farmers attend to show support
• July 15 — Planning Committee meeting to be held, amendments to be discussed
“I believe there is a strong consensus on this island that we need to grow more of our food — for our security, our health and our economy,” former County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said in written testimony. “We will not be able to do this without addressing the need for farm worker housing.”
Bill No. 2813, if passed, would amend Section 8-1.5 of the Kaua‘i County Code by adding to the list of definitions entries for “farm,” “farm worker,” and “farm worker housing.” It would also amend Section 8-7.3 of the code to include farm worker housing as one of 15 uses and structures that require a use permit in agricultural districts.
With the room packed with a standing-room-only crowd that could have made the fire chief cringe, farmer after farmer took to the microphone to ask the council to pass the legislation. Many said the current terms of the bill — which was amended by the Planning Department and Planning Commission — were too restrictive in its definitions and might not do enough for new or prospective farmers.
Specifically, some farmers asked that the requirement that the term “farm worker” refer to an employee who works no less than 14 hours per week, rather than the 19-hour minimum currently in the proposed legislation.
Also, one farmer complained that the definition “Farm worker housing means housing over and above the residential density allowed in the Agriculture District ... (on) a farm that has generated at least $35,000 of gross sales of agricultural products per year, for the preceding two consecutive years, for each farm worker housing unit on the lot” should be reduced to $12,000 or be removed altogether.
“Be careful about putting money in the definition of a farm,” Moloa‘a farmer Scott Pomeroy said. “There’s no doubt that ag land needs to be protected ... it’s just that the business of farming ... has been to extract as much money or product out of an acre of land as possible. That’s led to severe depletion of the soil” and puts more and more pressure on the farmers.
Another Moloa‘a farmer, Scott Neuman, said money could probably do better in a savings account than in a farm, but that Kaua‘i farmers put their hearts, souls and money “where their mouths are.”
“The profit is minimal with back-breaking work,” he said.
His wife, Linda, said she has lived illegally on their 10-acre farm for seven years because she has no choice.
“Passing this bill shows the community your support for family farming,” she said. “We need help.”
Planning Committee Chair and Council Vice Chair Jay Furfaro, who introduced Bill No. 2813 last month, said that accomplishing all the bill set out to do is “easier said than done.” He said removing a requirement for a use permit could create the potential for a lot of abuse, and added that some issues may have to be addressed through an upcoming update to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. In short, Farm Worker Housing legislation is not a cure-all.
“I am looking forward to the Planning Committee meeting next week to work out some of the details,” Furfaro said in an interview during a caption break, with all but a few chairs full of yet-to-testify farmers.
“Why can’t we feed ourselves? We have the Garden Island here, so where’s the garden?” asked Keone Kealoha of Malama Kaua‘i in his testimony. “This is something that we have the ability to manage ourselves. ... I think that together we can figure out what those details are.”
Bill 2813 Timeline
• June 3 — Introduced by Jay Furfaro, passed on first reading by a 7-0 vote
• July 8 — Public hearing held, dozens of farmers attend to show support
• July 15 — Planning Committee meeting to be held, amendments to be discussed
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| Hokule‘a sets sail Friday | TOMORROW'S NEWS — Hokule‘a here until Friday night |
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