Pennsylvania resident Andrew Tepper likes to stage festivals on pasture land he owns outside of Hilo, gatherings inspired by the famous “Burning Man” events in Nevada. Hundreds of people have attended, but now some of his neighbors are upset.

Last year the Hawaiʻi County Planning Department warned Tepper not to hold another festival until he obtained a permit, but Tepper admits he did it anyway. The county has already imposed fines totaling $34,000 for the gatherings in 2023 and 2024.

Undaunted, Tepper hosted yet another gathering and campout, this time calling it “private,” on his land in Pāpaʻikou in early November, and acknowledged at a Nov. 13 county contested case hearing that he refused to allow county inspectors onto his property while the event was underway.

Meanwhile, the Planning Department has recommended the county Windward Planning Commission approve Tepper’s request for a special permit that would allow him to legally host the festivals known as “Falls on Fire” on his property every year.

James McMahon and Lichun Huang are Pāpaʻikou residents who watch festival-goers drive by on the private Indian Tree Road that crosses their cacao and fruit farm. McMahon told Civil Beat he thinks this is all “very strange.”

“If someone is openly defying the Planning Department, you would think there would be some fairly severe consequences,” said McMahon, who with his wife has intervened in the case, opposing the festival permit.

McMahon told the county Planning Commission in written testimony earlier this year that Tepper has “repeatedly defied the County’s orders to not hold the ‘Falls on Flre’ events and therefore is likely to ignore the Special Permit conditions.”

Tepper is now appealing the county fines, arguing the festival does not require a special use permit. At the same time, he has applied to the county for just such a permit to authorize annual festivals that would be attended by up to 500 people, which is the subject of the contested case hearing.

When asked at the hearing why he is doing both, Tepper replied: “I do want this to all be kosher.”

County Planning Director Jeff Darrow said in a written statement Wednesday that the Planning Department’s recommendation of approval of the special use permit for the festivals could change, but he didn’t say how.

“As the contested case proceedings and submittals have not concluded, there is still a lot of information to review and consider,” Darrow wrote. “At this time, it is premature to provide our direction regarding any changes that may happen to our recommendation.”

‘I Had Found My People’

The affable Tepper, founder of an online game development company called eGenesis, testified at the hearing that he first attended a Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert in 2006.

“It was like I had found my people,” he said.

Tepper said he bought more than 14,000 acres in Pāpaʻikou three years ago because he likes to buy land — he has been on a notable buying spree lately — and because it “had more waterfalls than I’ve ever seen in my life.” He decided his Hawaiʻi property would be “perfect to do a Burning Man-style event.”

Activities at the four-day festivals vary from year to year because they are participant-driven, according to county records, but may include recorded music and dancing, artistic displays of light and holograms, art that celebrates Hawaiian flora, fauna and culture, and “wellness spaces” for “medication zones” and yoga.

Festival participants camp at the site, and Tepper said security is handled by a team of volunteer “rangers” he described as “almost like a therapist version of police” who resolve any disputes that come up. He said he also hired overnight security “to reassure the neighbors,” and the participants ensure all trash is picked up after the event.

With the nearest neighbor almost a half-mile away, Tepper said he assumed his property was so remote no one would be bothered by the noise of the amplified music. The speakers are aimed mauka toward another 13,000-acre parcel Tepper owns upslope from the Falls of Fire event site.

The festivals are held on about 14 acres of Tepper’s land, and — mimicking Burning Man — end with a “ceremony involving the burning of a symbolic effigy to close out the event,” according to Planning Department records.

Tepper testified he did not believe he was required to have a county permit for the 2023 festival, which according to county records was attended by 100 to 150 people. However, the county notice of violation for that event says an event coordinator for Falls on Fire was told a special permit was required.

Tepper was fined for the 2023 event and warned not to hold another without a permit, but he acknowledged during the hearing he went ahead with another Falls of Fire last year anyway.

“I don’t think I need the permit,” Tepper tesified. “I can read English.”

‘I Am Trying To Be In Compliance’

This year Tepper held a similar event in November, again defying the county requirement that he get a permit. This year’s event had no advertising and was done by invitation, he said, “like a family reunion or wedding or something.”

Tepper testified at the contested case hearing that people make plans for Burning Man-style events many months in advance, including arranging for time off from work and booking flights.

“There was probably 30 people from the mainland here,” Tepper said. “I thought I would have the permit in time, but I can’t screw all my friends. So, I knew I would get a fine.”

An effigy was set up at the bonfire site in preparation for a “burn,” but was never actually set on fire this year, in part because there was a wildfire burning on Mauna Kea above Tepper’s property.

“We could see the wildfire, the wildfire was basically in the background of the effigy,” Tepper testified, “and so it would have looked terrible to do an artistic fire when there’s an actual wildfire up at 8,000 feet.”

Tepper said he had applied to the state Health Department this year for a permit for an open burn, and that application was denied. He testified he will refrain from similar burns in the future if the Health Department directs him to do so.

Tepper said he has already been served with another notice of violation for the November event.

“I hope you see that I’m trying to comply in spirit.”

Andrew Tepper

The county’s recommendation that Tepper be granted a special use permit requires him to resolve his appeals and pay the fines, and Tepper said he will pay them “100%” if he is granted the special use permit.

“The reason I haven’t paid the fines is because I have an appeal pending,” he said, “but if I have to pay the fines, I will absolutely pay the fines.”

Deputy Corporation Counsel Jean Campbell questioned Tepper about his track record thus far, asking: “Given the decisions that we’ve seen made over the last three years to proceed without any number of various approvals that are necessary, why is it that the planning director should stick with the favorable recommendation that he has made?”

After a sigh and a pause, Tepper replied: “I don’t know. I hope you will. I am trying to be in compliance. Look at how much time I’ve taken on all these hearings, and I’ve spent a huge amount of money on this.”

“I hope you see that I’m trying to comply in spirit,” Tepper said.

Big Island Residents Divided

Tepper’s permit application is supported by some neighbors, including Evan Rock and Scott Hoyt. Rock described Tepper as “a responsible neighbor and a considerate member of our community,” and said the 2023 festival “did not create significant disturbances,” according to county records.

Hoyt suggested the festival “provides an opportunity for residents to come together, strengthen community bonds and create lasting memories.”

But Tepper’s application for a special use permit drew some heated opposition from an assortment of Big Island residents, including some who suggested the Falls of Fire festival was an inappropriate use of agricultural lands that should be used to grow food.

McMahon and Huang said in written testimony that they “strongly believe the proposed uses are neither reasonable use of prime agricultural land nor in keeping with the character of our farming community. We are therefore asking for denial of this application in its entirety.”

The parties in the contested case will submit final written arguments to Hearings Officer Sherry Broder, who will then make a recommendation to the Windward Planning Commission on whether the special permit for Falls of Fire should be approved.