MAYOR'S WATCH

 

Mayor Mufi Hannemann caters to big business, and gives the environment and honest government the backseat  

As a candidate, Mayor Mufi Hannemann ran on a platform promising political reforms 

to address the ills caused by the previous administration.  In the infancy of

his administration, within days of his inauguration, he talked about the

concerns he had for our environment, which he believed suffered under the

Harris administration.  Harris laid claim to the title of “The Environmental Mayor,” 

and now Hannemann was promising to address important environmental problems 

on the island of Oahu.

We believe that a prominent case which involves political reforms and

environmental issues is that of the “Sunset on the Beach” program.   

Interestingly, this case garnered media interest during the Harris administration.

Citizens and politicians alike wondered why taxpayers should be footing the

bill for events designed to bring tourism dollars to hotels and other

businesses in Waikiki, when these businesses could foot the bill themselves.

Nevertheless, Harris continued Sunset on the Beach.  Aside from the dubious

use of taxpayer money to fund these events, we were, and we still are concerned

that by continuing what we believe to be the illegalities begun under the

Harris administration, Mayor Hannemann also continues the political

corruption and environmental threats.  The huge stage and other structures

and activities associated with Sunset on the Beach take place on the public

beach within the Special Management Area (SMA).  We also believe that the

activity is within the 100-foot shoreline setback area.  On October 26, 2006, we

wrote to Mayor Hannemann about this, stating our concerns that this is in

violation of both SMA and shoreline setback laws.  There are federal, state,

and county environmental laws in place to protect the environment, and

especially the sensitive shoreline areas.  In our letter, we explained our

concerns and cited appropriate sections of the law.  To view our letter,

please click on this link:  

Here is the frame for the movie screen that has been permanently set up for "Sunset on the Beach"

We believe that Mayor Hannemann's failure to obtain the necessary SMA 

major permit and shoreline setback variance is in violation of our environmental 

laws.  However, we have still not received a reply to our letter.

Why has the Mayor not responded to our letter? What has he got to hide?  If

he was willing to obey the laws and do the right thing, why hasn¹t he done

so?  If the city government refuses to abide by our environmental laws, then

how can the city expect the “ordinary citizen” to do so?  And now, we read that 

Tesoro has been named to take over the Sunset on the Beach activities!

[UPDATE 1/18/07] 

Mayor Hannemann responds to our October 26 letter!] 

Link to Mayor's response,   

and to  EnviroWatch's response to the Mayor

Do you know who has oversight of the SMA and shoreline setback laws within

the Hannemann administration?   It is the Department of Planning and

Permitting (DPP), under Director Henry Eng and Deputy Director David Tanoue.

We have heard from a number of DPP employees over the past year, who have

openly speculated that Tanoue is the “de facto Director” of DPP.  His name

is prominent in several cases we have been following.  And, since DPP is the

city agency charged with issuing the permits and enforcing the laws, we find

it revealing that a number of key DPP staff positions have been vacant for

the past 6 months or so.  The positions are vacant within the DPP Land Use

Permits Division, which is one of the most important divisions.  It handles

SMA, shoreline, and other important cases in DPP.  It is unbelievable that

there is no permanent Division Chief in the Land Use Permits Division, or

Branch Chief in the Land Use Approvals Branch.  We have learned that former

Division Chief Barbara Moon retired in May, and former Branch Chief Eileen

Mark quit in June of this year.  So far, six months later, these positions

have still not been filled, and we have learned that interviews for

employees to fill these positions have not taken place,  or  are even 

scheduled to take place.  Instead, the DPP has been functioning by naming

other employees to take “Temporary Assignment.”  Assistant Division Chief

Bob Bannister is acting as Division Chief of the Land Use Permits Division.

Art Challacombe, a chief of a different division within the DPP, is acting

as a Branch Chief in the Land Use Permits Division.  Therefore, other

employees have to be put on “Temporary Assignment” to fill in for the

positions they no longer handle.  (However, we have heard that no one has

been named to fill in for the Assistant Division Chief position.)    This no

doubt causes problems for the DPP staff people.  More and more, we find that

people in “temporary positions” are deferring to the DPP Deputy David

Tanoue.  The Hannemann administration would probably not like to have this

information known, but a growing number of DPP employees we have spoken to

are unhappy and demoralized.  They were led to believe there would be a

positive change once Jeremy Harris left office, but this has not occurred.

We have learned that a considerable number of employees believe the

department is becoming more dysfunctional, and this crosses lines between

the various divisions.  However, the Land Use Permits Division is apparently one 

of the hardest hit in this regard.

VIOLATIONS AT ISLAND RECYCLING

Another case that we have been following for many years is Island Recycling Inc.

In their previous location on Sand Island, Island Recycling had SMA

violations and building violations, as well as zoning violations.  It was

classified as a “Waste Disposal and Processing Facility” by former Director

Eric Crispin, under the Harris administration.  However, this classification

was abruptly changed by the DPP to a classification with lesser zoning

requirements (“General Manufacturing Packaging and Processing”) when it was

determined that Island Recycling would need a zoning variance to obtain a

Conditional Use Permit, because they did not have the minimum 5-year lease

needed to apply.  A public hearing would have been required for the

variance, and apparently the City and Island Recycling wanted to avoid this

since Island Recycling had been named by the Mayor to do the island-wide

recycling program, and “time was of the essence.”   Having not received a

reply to our letter to Crispin, we wrote to Director Henry Eng, under the

new Hannemann administration, requesting clarification of the two land use

categories.   To read our letter to Eng, please click on the following link:

Why do we believe this is an important issue for the environment?  

It is because these classifications are encountered over and

over by the DPP when making determinations about new and existing

facilities, and the types of permits that are needed to allow the uses,

depending on the zoning, details of the use, etc.  Many industrial

facilities are also located with the SMA, so sensitive environmental issues

are involved.   Again, as in the case of our Sunset on the Beach letter, we

have not received a reply.  Why is the DPP reluctant to respond?

KO OLINA 

We would also like to mention the Ko Olina public boat launch

ramp.  Please click on the following link to view information on this subject:

TRASH AROUND THE ISLAND

There is trash everywhere you look.  Mufi promised a cleanup - now, there is 

more than ever.  Click on link for pictures.

SPHERE LLC

We recently recovered documents from the DPP files under the State’s 

Uniform Information Practices Act, or “Sunshine Law”.  During our review we

found that Deputy Director David Tanoue  personally altered, and ordered 

his secretary  to place language in the P-5 Zoning clearance form required by 

the Hawaii State Department of Health that had been submitted by 

Pacific Aggregate, dba Sphere LLC.   This was done  because several  

DPP employees refused to sign the  original document submitted 

by Sphere, LLC.  

Earlier this year we wrote to Mayor Hannemann requesting that the DPP issue a 

Notice of Violation to Sphere LLC for operating a concrete and construction debris

site, and for disposal of coal ash.  We did not receive a response from

Mayor Hannemann, and a citation was never issued, but our letter of complaint 

was in the file.  When DPP employees inspected the site they also confirmed that

there were violations.

Members of the Waianae community invited Mayor Hannemann to attend a public

meeting, but he declined.  Shortly thereafter Mayor Hannemann attended a private

meeting with people affiliated and supporting Sphere, LLC at the City Hall in Kapolei.  

When we went to the City Hall, Hannemann hid from our cameras and his deputies 

placed their hands over the camera lens.  The question is, why would Mayor Hannemann 

meet privately with individuals supporting and working for Sphere LLC, and not meet 

with community members who oppose Sphere's operation.

SYNAGRO

In Mayor Hannemann’s 2006 State of the City Address, he claimed,  “On April 1

the Synagro plant will begin converting sewage sludge into fertilizer pellets.

That will remove more than 8,000 tons of sludge from the waste stream and reduce

much of the odor generated from dumping it at the landfill. We're also working with

the Navy to recycle sludge, a move that will compost another 2,100 tons in the

waste stream.”  Today, nearly a year later, no pellets have been processed and as

much as 30 tons of the smelly sludge is being dumped in the Waimanalo Gulch landfill

each day.

 

And the list goes on.  We have formally requested the resignation of Mr. Eric Takamura, from the position of Director of the Department of Environmental Services (click on following link to see letter).

We will be producing videos on 'Olelo Community Television exploring these, and other issues, involving the environment.