Homelessness, Vacation Rentals, Charter Changes Topics At Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Meeting

Our September 15 meeting was busy. Here’s a quick look at some important developments. To see our earlier reports from the meeting, click here and here.

Windward Homelessness: City Councilman Ikaika Anderson talked with us about options that are being considered for housing Oahu’s homeless. He said the city sees promise in a “housing first” approach, in which homeless people are provided with housing before they begin receiving medical, psychiatric, legal and other services. Many current programs for the homeless require that they receive treatment before they are housed.

One housing first option is opening a multi-unit shelter to provide both housing and services. Councilman Anderson asked the Neighborhood Board what it would think of the city locating a multi-unit shelter for the homeless in Kaneohe. Board member Deborah Collins asked the councilman to provide a map of city-owned properties that might be used for the project.

Councilman Anderson also said he would consider an approach in which the city would provide financial support to landlords to open individual properties for homeless clients. He said this might enable Windward residents to help homeless people who are family members or friends.

Unpermitted Vacation Rentals: Mayors’ representative Lori Kahikina said that funds are running short for the city to investigate vacation rentals to determine if they meet city requirements. She urged residents to provide detailed information about possible violations to help inspectors be more efficient. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 unpermitted vacation rentals operate on Oahu.

City Charter Amendments: We voted 12-0 on a resolution asking the City Charter Commission to inform the public about each of the 20 Charter amendments that it has put on the November election ballot. The vote came after we voted to add the topic to our agenda. The commission has the language of each measure and a description on its website at http://honoluluchartercommission.org/.

NEW BANNERS: Board Chairman Mo Radke and Board Member Warren Ditch display one of two new banners promoting our monthly meetings. Watch for the banners at Benjamin Parker Elementary School and the corner of Kamehameha Highway and Keaahala Road. 

Comments Welcome: Please join us for all of our meetings. If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly. Comments on this blog are welcomed. To add a comment, please click on the link below. Also, please like us on Facebook and comment there.

KKHARP Mtg 6:30pm, 9/26/16, Kaneohe District Park - Risk Assessment & Community Resource Mapping.

Join us to make yourself and Kaneohe more resilient.  Understand the risks we all face and what you can do about them. For more information Click Here.

Legislative tracking-Stay on top of legislation that interests you.

The State of Hawaii has one of the best applications to provide transparency to the legislative system of any State in the USA. Please, everyone on the Legislative Committee check out this short video (17m) that shows how to track legislation using capitol.hawaii.gov.  Checkout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTIcH8wSaJs and let me know what you think. Let me know where you have questions so we can fill in the blanks.

Dangerous Traffic, Dogs In The Garden And More From The Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Meeting

Here’s a further update on developments during our September 15 meeting.

Dangerous Traffic on Pua Alowalo St.: We learned that police had issued four speeding tickets since neighbors raised concerns at our August meeting, and that officers continue monitoring the street.  Speaking for the Mayor’s Office, Environmental Services Director Lori Kahikina told us that the city plans to do a traffic calming study on the street.

Residents are concerned about an increasing number of drivers using the street as a thrill ride and shortcut between the Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center and Kamehameha Highway. A bad curve, a hill and heavy use of the street by pedestrians (since there are no sidewalks) add to the danger.

Dogs in the Kaneohe Community Garden: Mayors’ representative Lori Kahikina told us that the Department of Parks and Recreation will work with the gardeners to complete a fence around the garden. We had learned during our August meeting that off-leash dogs were leaving waste, digging and threatening garden users.

The garden is located behind a baseball field at Kaneohe Community Park, 45-529 Keaahala Road. More information is available on the city’s community garden webpage and the Kaneohe Community Garden Facebook page.

Construction on Lilipuna Road: City Councilman Ikaika Anderson told us that he recommends the city take foreclosure action in response to questioned construction activity at 46-107 Lilipuna Road. Mr. Anderson also said the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting is working on the issue.

Neighbors told our April meeting that a residence under construction on the site was taller and covered more square feet than allowed, and that it lacked a shoreline use permit. They said construction was continuing on the property in spite of stop-work orders from the city. And they showed a picture of what they described as sewage flowing from the property into Kaneohe Bay.

Still To Come: Our August meeting also included discussions of housing the homeless, dealing with illegal vacation rentals and proposed changes to the city charter. Watch for updates on those issues in a future post.

Comments Welcome: Please join us for all of our meetings. If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly. Comments on this blog are welcomed. To add a comment, please click on the link below. Also, please like us on Facebook and comment there.

Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Learns About State Hospital Plans, OK’s Legislative Outreach

Our September meeting was informative and eventful. Below are some of the highlights. Watch this blog for more in the next few days.

State Hospital representatives address our

September meeting. They are Mark Fridovich,

adult mental health administrator for the

State Department of Health, and Kira

Downing of DTL.

State Hospital Master Plan: Hospital representatives told us they are approaching another key point in their work to build a new facility for high-risk patients.
Kira Downing of the strategic planning firm DTL said a draft environmental impact statement for the project should be ready for review by mid-October. She said the public will then have 60 days to comment. The new facility will have 144 beds and security features such as metal detectors and 15-foot-high fences. It will be built on the site of the Goddard Building, which is being demolished.

Hospital officials plan to award a contract to build the new facility by mid-2017 and to complete it by 2020. Additional information about the project is available from Brian Isa of the state Department of Accounting and General Services at brian.s.isa@hawaii.gov.

The hospital has been one of our top priorities for several years, as it is one of Kaneohe’s largest employers and has a significant impact on Windward Community College next door. You can learn more about our work on hospital issues by entering Hawaii State Hospital in the search bar at the top left of this page.

Victims’ Rights Resolution: We approved a resolution expressing support for stronger victims’ rights laws, and authorizing a work group to track and testify on legislation affection Kaneohe in 2017. The resolution passed with 10 votes in favor and two abstentions. Our vice-chairman, Bill Sager, developed the resolution. The 2016 Legislature considered a victims’ rights bill but did not pass it. Supporters have said they will seek passage in the 2017 session.

Vacant Seats: Two seats are currently open on the Board. They represent Sub-District 8, Kapunahala; and Sub-District 12, Pikoiloa.The Board is authorized to fill vacancies by appointment. Community members may indicate their interest by contacting Board Chairman Mo Radke or by attending a Board meeting. A map of the district is available online, as is a street index that is organized by sub-district (search for District 30 in the index, then find the sub-district).

Comments Welcome: Please join us for all of our meetings. If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly. Comments on this blog are welcomed. To add a comment, please click on the link below. Also, please like us on Facebook and comment there.

City Sewer Project Planned

The City will be installing a sewer gravity main on Ha'iku Road from Kahekili Hwy to Kamehameha Hwy. A meeting will be held September 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Ha'iku Elementary School to inform the public about the project and to discuss the EA. You can find the link to the official announcement by clicking here

State Hospital Master Plan And Victims’ Rights Top Agenda For Kaneohe Neighborhood Board

The agenda for our September 15 meeting is set, and we hope you will join us. Details are below. To review the complete agenda online, click on this link.

State Hospital Master Plan: Kira Downing of DTL, a strategic planning and communications firm, will provide a briefing about progress on the hospital’s updated master plan. Work has been under way since February on demolishing one of the hospital’s main buildings. The plan calls for that facility, the Goddard Building, to be torn down by this fall. After that, construction is to begin on a building to serve high-risk patients. The hospital has been one of our top priorities for several years, as it is one of Kaneohe’s largest employers and has a significant impact on Windward Community College next door. You can learn more about our work on hospital issues by entering Hawaii State Hospital in the search bar at the top left of this page.

Victims’ Rights Resolution: Our vice-chairman, Bill Sager, will present a resolution supporting legislation to strengthen crime victims’ rights in Hawaii. He told our August meeting that the legislation, modeled on “Marsy’s Law,” would provide crime victims with standing in any legal action against anyone who harmed them, including being notified when the criminal was released from jail. The 2016 Legislature considered a bill on the issue but did not pass it. Supporters have said they will seek passage in the 2017 session.

Other Business: Our agenda always includes time for reports from the Fire and Police Departments, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, elected officials from the state and local levels, community organizations, and our Board committees.

Vacant Seats: Two seats are currently open on the Board. They represent Sub-District 8, Kapunahala; and Sub-District 12, Pikoiloa. The Board is authorized to fill vacancies by appointment. Community members may indicate their interest by contacting Board Chairman Mo Radke or by attending a Board meeting. A map of the district is available online, as is a street index that is organized by sub-district (search for District 30 in the index, then find the sub-district).

Details: The Board meeting will take place in the cafeteria of Benjamin Parker Elementary School, 45-259 Waikalua Road, starting at 7 p.m. 

Click on the highlighted links above to read the full agenda and find more information about agenda topics. The minutes of our August meeting also are now available. Click on the highlighted link to read them.

We welcome your comments, in person and online

Please join us for all of our meetings. If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly.

Comments on this blog are welcomed. To add a comment, please click on the link below. Also, please like us on Facebook and comment there.

Join Us For Our September Meetings

Agenda Planning Meeting

Tuesday, September 6, 7 p.m.

Kaneohe Community and Senior Center

45-613 Puohala Street

Regular Board Meeting

Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m.

Benjamin Parker Elementary School

45-259 Waikalua Road

The agenda for the Regular Board Meeting is available online by clicking this link.

If you are unable to attend, you may provide testimony online and contact Neighborhood Board members directly.

Comments on this blog are welcomed. To add a comment, please click on the link below. Also, please like us on Facebook and comment there.