Kauaʻi voters in November will decide whether to approve a proposed county charter amendment to clarify and expedite the Planning Commission’s appeals process.

Planning Department appeals are now heard by the Planning Commission or a hearings officer. The charter also lists the Zoning Board of Appeals as a third option, which was added in 2016 but has never been used.

The amendment, recommended by Kauaʻi County Cost Control Commission, would update the county charter to match the current process. It will appear on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.

MidWeek published an explanation, along with the proposed changes to the charter, this week.

Copies of the publication are available at the Historic County Building, Office of Boards and Commissions and Office of the Mayor. You also can find the Sept. 30 publication online.

• Ballot language: Shall the Kauaʻi County Charter be amended to expedite and clarify the Planning Commission’s appeals process by removing all references to a Zoning Board of Appeals?
• Purpose: The Zoning Board of Appeals has never been used, and its functions are being handled by hearings officers and the Planning Commission. This amendment would remove the Zoning Board of Appeals from the charter and align the charter with the current process.
• Background: The appeals process for the Planning Commission consists of three options. An appeal can be heard by the Planning Commission, a hearings officer or Zoning Board of Appeals, although the Zoning Board of Appeals has never actually been used.

The Planning Commission has the discretion of who conducts appeals hearings. Kauaʻi County Cost Control Commission recommends removing the Zoning Board of Appeals to clarify and expedite the appeals process.

The Zoning Board of Appeals was added to the charter in an effort to reduce the workload of the Planning Commission. However, it has proven unworkable to find volunteers willing and able to commit to successive days and sometimes weeks of hearings in highly legalistic procedures.

The duration of one hearing consisted of 8 hours a day and continued for 9 days. As a result, no Zoning Board of Appeals has been installed since it was created.

The appeals process is a hearing similar to a court proceeding, with witnesses, cross-examination and presentation of evidence.

Hearings officers are attorneys familiar with legal procedures and rules involved in these hearings. To use a volunteer board of 7 people without legal training to conduct these hearings would likely result in more time and more costly court litigation.

A neighboring county with a Zoning Board of Appeals is experiencing a 2-year backlog of hearings and is considering using a hearings officer instead.

Contact Anela Davis at the Office of Boards and Commissions at 808-241-4917 or via email at adavis@kauai.gov for additional information or with any questions.