Lynda Gill’s Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii Real Estate at Pacific Ocean Properties

Kauai Council Rezoning Brings Up Questions

The Kaua‘i County Council back in 2005 approved rezoning in Kukui‘ula to allow development of 1,500 units on a 1,000-acre property along Lawa‘i Road.  The petitioners, landowner Alexander & Baldwin and developer JMB, agreed as a condition of the permit to build 75 affordable homes for its employees and other Kauai residents.  The petitioner reserves the right, for 90 years, to buy those affordable homes back at the original sale price, plus any capital improvements and an annual interest rate of 1 percent.  The buy-back protection was intended to not only provide affordable homes to Kauai residents, but also to prevent speculation.  Now, five years later, a proposed amendment to the condition would reduce the 90-year buy-back protection to 25 years.

“If this bill passes, the affordable housing will become unaffordable when the buy-back clause expires,” said former Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who helped craft the original bill when she was on the council.  When the buyback period ends residents will then question why this was done but it will be too late Yukimura says.  At that time this housing can be sold for market value.  The council Planning Committee deferred discussion and any decision on the bill to the next committee meeting, likely on June 16.

Horse Rescue

Kauai Humane Society seized 16 horses that were in deplorable condition on a property near Wailua Falls.  A nearby resident had complained about “skinny horses” on the leased pasture land where the owner of the horses lives.  A humane society officer brought $400 worth of feed to the owner and offered for KHS to feed all her horses for 30 days for free and to provide free veterinary exams for all horses if the caretaker would agree to find new homes for them all within 30 days.  But the owner refused and asked the officer to leave. 

Feeling the horses needed to be rescued before they starved to death the Humane Society got a search warrant and were able to take the horses into protective custody. 

Humane officers found several horses tied with ropes to trees without nearby water supplies. Most of the horses were docile when approached by people, some walking toward the officers to accept rubs on their heads and offers of food. All were thin, most with ribs and hip bones protruding.

Fire(s)!!!!!

On Memorial Day there was a pesky brush fire located near the Lihue Airport that gave KFD firefighters a run for their money.  The fire burned over eight acres but did not stop any planes from landing or taking off.  It started around 4:30 and did not get contained unit 7 pm, firefighters went back on Tuesday to extinguish any hot spots.

Then on Thursday a brush fire around the Menehune Fishpond area burned about 3 acres.  That’s an area that has a lot of potential for getting out of control and it took three stations (Kalaheo, Lihue, Kapaa) to control it after 90 minutes.

Head On Collision Kills Koloa Resident

Last Tuesday a head-on collision took the of Gloria Agcaoili, 70, of Koloa.

A 38-year-old Koloa man and a New Jersey visitor, 47, were seriously injured in the collision on Kuhio Highway near the Wailapa Road intersection.  According to a preliminary report, the New Jersey man was heading north on the highway between mile-marker 22 and 23 in Kilauea at around 5:17 p.m. when he apparently crossed the center line and struck a southbound vehicle driven by the 38 year old Koloa man and in which Agcaoili was the passenger. 

Agcaoili, a passenger in the southbound vehicle, died at the scene.

The New Jersey man was the sole occupant of his vehicle and the two men were transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital for treatment.