By NANCY COOK LAUER
By NANCY COOK LAUER
Stephens Media
Two Puna residents have filed suit in 3rd Circuit Court, seeking to stop the implementation of a new county building code that went into effect Wednesday.
Ken Long, a retired fire protection engineer from San Francisco who pushed for amendments to the code, and former Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole’s legislative aide R.J. Hampton are asking the court to halt implementation while their complaint to the state Office of Information Practices is pending. The duo says the County Council violated the state Sunshine Law when it didn’t provide copies of amendments to the code and didn’t have the proposed code in the proper format to allow the public to see what’s changing.
The county had worked on revisions to its building code for more than a year. Members of the public have come out in force against it, saying it doesn’t take Hawaii’s unique climate into account and it would force expensive retrofits. The code applies to new construction, renovating more than 50 percent of a structure’s replacement value or making an unpermitted building legal.
An estimated 30 percent of structures on the Big Island are not up to code, according to County Council members.
The 5-2 vote was taken Feb. 13 only after a dozen police officers swarmed into the chambers to evict a rowdy crowd chanting “kill this bill.” Hampton was among those creating the ruckus, standing up during her testimony and pointing to Puna Councilman Fred Blas as a “cancer.”
Blas, along with Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago, Ka‘u Councilwoman Brittany Smart and Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda voted for the bill. Council Chairman Dominic Yagong of Hamakua and South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford voted no. Hilo Councilmen J Yoshimoto and Dennis Onishi were absent.
“This injunction has the potential of being a class- action filing because of the numerous people who have voiced their concerns that the new building code will be damaging,” the lawsuit states. “There is the potential of destruction of property due to the enforcement of the substandard condition section of the adopted code. If this injunction is not granted Ordinance 12-27 will create hardships because of the inappropriate and unnecessary code section that increase construction cost.”
County Deputy Corporation Counsel Michael Udovic said Wednesday he had just received a copy of the lawsuit and wasn’t prepared to comment. The county has 20 days to respond.
“We’ll determine the significance of this lawsuit and draft an appropriate response,” Udovic said.
If the county doesn’t enact its own building code by the state-imposed deadline of April 15, the state building code goes into effect for the island, according to the Department of Public Works. DPW Director Warren Lee says much of the opposition to the code comes from a misunderstanding of its contents.
The OIP has asked the county for copies of the bill, communications and other pertinent documents.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.