Land Use

Why would one of the state’s largest developers fund so-called anti-development groups?

...the case seemed like a good vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the pretext-in-eminent-domain issue it teased us with in Kelo....

"Can it be that the idiots who evidently run the Hawaii Business magazine have never heard about the principle that statutes have to be constitutional?"

...these parcels will add approximately 22,500 acres of land to the 1,700 acres of Galbraith Estate agricultural land in Central Oahu....

...the Pacific Islands Parks Act of 2013, would direct the National Park Service to complete studies of three designated sites in the state of Hawai‘i....

All we have to do is pass the bill unamended, and we can move the PLDC repeal along to the final step. And then Senator Solomon announces she want to amend the bill....

Scott Bullock, the Institute for Justice lawyer who argued Kelo will be speaking next Monday at the University of Hawaii School of Law ....

...the environmental lawyers upped the ante by calling Callies a liar and a sell-out....

The Democratic Party has two reliable groups of adherents: the rich and the poor...Both groups have little use for the middle class....

Across the country, more than 75,000 buildings sit vacant or underutilized....

...In "City followed law in issuing Hao Street development permit," he makes some good points we don't usually see being made by government officials....

... University of Hawaii Law School panel about "The PLDC and Property Rights in Hawaii"....

...it is difficult if not impossible to overturn a land use district boundary amendment as contrary to IAL designation, when it does not yet exist...

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 from 7:15 - 8:30 p.m., at the University of Hawaii Law School ....

Jeff and his wife Laurie Stone contributed $3000 to Kirk Caldwell's recent Mayoral campaign....

Presented by the Environmental Law Program and the Federalist Society at 12:15 p.m. in CR1 at UH Richardson Law School Thursday, February 21....

...Somebody is playing a joke on Sen Thielen, making her oppose her previous proposal....

Did you know that as a Hawaii landowner you own all unmarked or unbranded cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, goats, and swine, over twelve months of age, which may be running wild on your land?

“The Commission granted Hawaiian Electric and C&C a waiver from competitive bidding based on, among other conditions, demonstrated ‘site control.’"

Even in Honolulu, housing affordability has deteriorated markedly, with the Median Multiple rising 0.6 points in just the last year. Honolulu was less affordable than all but Hong Kong and Vancouver...

...a "zoning verification" by the Director of the City and County's Department of Planning and Permitting is not a "decision of the Director"....

House Bill 17 is scheduled for its first hearing in the House Committee on Water and Land on Friday, January 25 at 8:30 a.m. in House Conference Room 325....

Repeal Bills:  SB 1; SBs 245, 246; SB 338; SB 425; SB 480; SB 663; SBs 780, 781; SB 866....

The Hawaii Supreme Court has accepted certiorari and agreed to review the Intermediate Court of Appeals' unpublished memorandum opinion in Diamond v. Dobbin....

"If the Legislature cannot achieve this outcome, the possibility of repeal will ensue."

NFIB, CATO Instiutute, Owners' Counsel of America, and lawprofs James Ely, David Callies, Todd Zywicki, Randy Barnett, Eric Claeys, and D. Benjamin Barros -- have filed an amicus brief ....

Intermediate Court of Appeals held that the Hawaii Senate's failure to confirm a sitting Land Use Commissioner for a second term did not disqualify him from office ....

With protesters unleashing their fury on Abercrombie’s Public Lands Development Corporation, political insiders have been scheming.  And on December 28, they quietly announced their plan....

"The proliferation and use of unpermitted kayak rentals being conducted at Napoopoo have resulted in concerns .... " 

The report’s recommendations come after a series of meetings between state government officials, private sector leaders and non-profit representatives....

• Blake v. County of Kauai Planning Comm'n,
• Kanahele v. Maui County Council

In Hawaii, hunting has had a long tradition that for political reasons is being eradicated....

...Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu is not exempt from historic preservation review....

...the ICA held that property owners ... are not required to seek an amendment to the Community Plan in order to ripen their takings claims....

...the government condemned the appraised area, paying for it with compensation supplied by the Ungactas, and transferred it to the Ungactas....

...Trust for Public Land assembled the $25 million purchase price from a variety of sources, including $13 million from a Hawaii state bond; $4.5 million from the U.S. Army; $4 million from the City and County of Honolulu; $3 million from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and $500,000 from D.R. Horton....

...The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals held in this unpublished memorandum order that the Commission must hold a "contested case" hearing upon demand....

In keeping with a long tradition in Hawaii that land use cases are litigated in court on procedural rather than substantive grounds, the opening skirmish in Sierra Club v. D. R. Horton was fought over whether one of the parties’ appeal in the case should be disallowed....

Many have asked how come none of the regular environmental and public interest watch-dog groups sounded the alarm earlier? How did such a law get passed?

The developer touts the proposed resort as "the most environmentally and culturally responsible visitor-oriented project ever to be proposed in the state."

...the Hawaii Supreme Court "has managed to find in favor of Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, Earthjustice ... 90% of the time, 70% of those decisions overturning the [Hawaii] Intermediate Court of Appeals....

Last year, Souza provided equipment used for a beach-cleaning contract at Ko Olina held by a company headed by Paul Hospodar, chief of security at the Ko Olina Resort, business records show….Hospodar was fired from the police force in 1995 for violent behavior and alleged drug abuse....