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Accessory Dwelling Units: New City and County of Honolulu Ordinance 15-41 Not Allowed in WLF

By on September 23, 2015 in Announcements, General, Legislation, News

On September 14, 2015 Mayor Caldwell sign into law Bill 20 (2015), CD1:

To amend chapter 21, revised ordinances of Honolulu 1990, as amended (The land use ordinance), relating to accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The purpose of this ordinance is to establish ADUs as a permitted use in all residential zoning districts, to encourage and accommodate the construction of ADUs, increase the number of affordable rental units and alleviate the housing shortage in the City, and to establish land use standards for those ADUs.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, the West Loch Fairways DCC&Rs do not allow the membership to add an ADU to their property, as noted below:

Article III Section 3.02 Residential Lots: Uses and Restrictions (a) Subject to subsection 3.02(ii) below, only one Family (including domestic servants and transient guests) shall occupy each Lot, and each Owner shall construct only one detached or duplex single-family Residence (which may include a guest room without a kitchen connected to the main dwelling) on any Lot designated for single-family residential purposes.

The September  20, 2015 edition of the Honolulu Star Advertiser included an ADU Q&A  article: Accessory dwelling units zero in on housing woes, by Andrew Gomes, which answers most questions one would have regarding an ADU. Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Kokua Line also provides information in its article  Rules of a homeowners hui override city ADU precepts.

Our Messy Monkey Pod Trees Are Making Us Healthier

By on August 6, 2015 in General, News

I am sure most of us have grumbled one time or another about the tree rubbish found throughout our neighborhood.  After reading the linked articles and scientific study you may find that removing that gummy monkey pod from your slipper or sweeping the piles of leaves that build up in your yard isn’t such a bad thing after all.

A study published last month in the journal Scientific Reports suggest that people who live in areas with higher street tree density report better health perception and fewer cardio-metabolic conditions compared with their peers living in areas with lower street tree density. According to the study, improving health perception and decreasing cardio-metabolic conditions by planting 10 more trees per city block is equivalent to increasing the income of every household in that city block by more than $10,000.

Scientific Reports Article – Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center

Washington Post Article or PDF

LA Times Article or PDF

City awards contract for feral chicken removal at city facilities including West Loch Golf Course

By on July 14, 2015 in Announcements, News
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Contact: Mayor Caldwell’s Press Office, 768-5768

City awards contract for feral chicken removal at city facilities

Honolulu – The City and County of Honolulu has awarded a contract for its Integrated Feral Chicken Management Program on city properties to Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions.

“The demonstration project uses available technology in a targeted approach to managing problematic feral chickens on city property,” said Sheri Kajiwara, Director of Customer Services.

Utilizing a proactive and systematic approach, traps will be set in city facilities such as parks, golf courses, corporation yards, and other areas where the presence of feral chickens have been verified by department personnel.  The contactor will use “smart traps” with wireless cameras and automatic notification of trapping, wildlife cameras to scout and assess sites, GPS to track technician locations, and barcode scanning to log completed assignments.  The city will be provided with access to the contractor’s logging system to review the service records posted for each location.

The trapping will be conducted Monday through Friday, with the traps collected at the end of the work week.  Other trapping methods, such as cage traps and netting, may also be used during the four-month demonstration project.

The $80,000 contract is being funding by a City Council appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2015 operating budget.

“The funds appropriated are not enough for a comprehensive islandwide program including private property, therefore the new program will target chicken roosting areas on city properties for more efficient trapping,” Director Kajiwara said.  “The new Integrated Feral Chicken Management Program will use an active strategy to capture chickens in known locations.  With the monitoring capability, the contract provides for transparency and accountability.”

Captured chickens will be humanely euthanized with a CO2 immersion system that conforms to American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines.

Initial trapping begins this week.  Among the 70 city facilities identified for trapping are the Board of Water Supply Yard on Diamond Head Road, the Waikīkī Shell, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Kaiaka Bay Beach Park in Hale‘iwa, Kualoa Regional Park, West Loch Golf Course, and Pali Golf Course.  More than 1,500 chickens were counted at city facilities in May this year.

FACT SHEET
The Integrated Feral Chicken Management Program will humanely capture and remove undesirable feral chickens from public locations identified by the city.

Contractor: Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions
Total Contract Amount: $80,000.00
Trapping

  • All sites with active traps will be monitored and checked daily.
  • Only humane capture devices and traps will be utilized.
  • All traps will have shade cloths, chicken feed, and water reservoirs.
  • Remote traps will trigger automatically and notify a technician.
  • Remote monitoring of traps use SIM Card enabled wireless cameras to send pictures of traps on demand or when movement is detected.

Monitoring

  • A wildlife cam will send scouting and intelligence photos to the technicians’ cell phone or email when the motion sensor detects movement.
  • Wildlife specialists will have a handheld computer which is a cellular and GPS-enabled unit that verifies their daily activities remotely.
  • The traps will have barcodes that will be scanned by the specialist.  An operations system will post the recorded scans of the completed appointment. The city will be provided access to the system to review the service records posted to each location.
  • All contractor vehicles shall be GPS-tracked to allow real-time monitoring.

First Annual West Loch Fairways Appreciation Concert

By on June 13, 2015 in Announcements, Event, General

Concert Band (1280x853)Music in the Park is a nice way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon here in West Loch Fairways!

We were entertained big time with the talents given to us by the Band of the Pacific joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam group called “Hana Hou”. It was a one hour blast of upbeat music.

The band’s back drop, stage and seating were set up by your WLF Board members: Tom Hiltner, Michael Nii, and Richard Ashley and my family.

Tom and his wife lugged a 10×20 foot tent from their home, and set it up so that older residents could sit comfortably on chairs and be out of the sun.

Michael my son and our daughter-in-law Kathy helped hold the 19×9 foot flag while Richard and my husband secured the flag. They also helped setting-up and taking down 75 chairs and three tables.

I must give special acknowledgment to the support and patience my husband Larry! He always goes out of his way to do the things a 5”1” old lady cannot do, either too weak or too short for the task.

The WLF Site Manager delivered fliers to various homes as his time allowed, and also is the one who posted the banner and notice on the Bulletin Board.

All of these people are responsible for making this event successful. I appreciate them all, and everyone who attended.

We will continue to come up with more Association Events aiming to please and hoping to generate participation from our Membership.

Always interested in your thoughts about bringing our community together.

Call me anytime.

Yvonne Dembinski

WLF Social Chairperson 681-5373

The First Annual West Loch Fairways Appreciation Concert HH1

When : JUNE 7, 2015

2:00pm – 3:30pm

Where : West Loch Fairways

TOT LOT PARK 

 

Bring your blankets and picnic eats and enjoy great LIVE music provided to us by a group of musicians from the Air Force Band of Pearl Harbor/Hickam called Hana Hou.   This is to kick off the celebration of Flag Day, and this group we will hear is very, very entertaining, they play everything from rock to top 40’s hits as well as Hawaiian and Patriotic.  It is a mixture of brass, guitar, drummers and even a female vocalist!     Some chairs will be provided also, but you may just want to lay back on your blankets and relax.

 

Honolulu City Council BILL 27 Relating to Minimum Real Property Tax

By on May 29, 2015 in Announcements, Legislation, News

****UPDATE****   At the May 12 ,2015 City Council Budget Meeting Bill 27 was Deferred for Action by the committee. There was opposition by the administration because of unintended consequences. As it is written now, Bill 27 has a much greater reach than what is believed  was originally intended by the advisory board and would significantly raise the property taxes on lower valued properties such as small condominiums and any property valued between $100,000 and $300,000. The Bill is still alive and we will have to wait and see if it will be amended.

The City Council voted to pass the first reading of Bill 27 which amends the minimum real property tax. Bill 27 will raise the minimum real property tax from $300 to $1000. The only exemption allowed would be for organizations that have obtained 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status. The Bill moves on to the Council’s Budget Committee at the May 12, 2015 meeting (Meeting Agenda)

Why do we care?

This legislation stands to have great implications for West loch Fairways. The Association holds the deed to 36 different properties or Tax Map Keys (TMK). Presently the Association’s real property tax for each property is $300/ property or $10,800 annually. If Bill 27 becomes law the Association’s real property tax bill will increase to $36,000. This new obligation will put a real strain on the Association’s operating budget and could force a maintenance dues increase. The Common Areas of West Loch Fairways consist of public access areas, e.g. greenbelts, mini parks, service roads and greenway sidewalks along Fort Weaver and A’awa Drive. These properties are valued at $100 by the City and County of Honolulu and should not be assessed a minimum real property tax of $1000 each as the Association already preforms all the landscape maintenance on these public access areas including maintaining the service roads and guest parking.

What can we do?

Please let City Councilmember Menor and the other Councilmembers know that Bill 27 will cost you money directly. That raising the minimum real property tax by over 300% is excessive and the Council should consider an incremental approach.

We will be updating this post as Bill 27 moves through the process.

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