Kauaʻi Punts On Rules To Make Homes Safer From Fires — Again
Proposed changes to construction and landscaping requirements for new homes have now been deferred three times by a council committee.
A bill to make new Kaua‘i homes more resistant to wildfires through strengthened construction and landscaping requirements was deferred again Wednesday by a Kaua‘i County Council committee.
Some council members were concerned about how much Bill 2998’s proposed measures could increase home construction costs and how it might affect the county’s financially strained water department, whose board over the summer approved a fee waiver for homes that meet the bill’s specifications.
The bill had already been deferred in September at the suggestion of council member Felicia Cowden, in part to give the community more time to provide input. Among the concerns raised in September was an estimate by the Contractor’s Association of Kauaʻi suggesting the proposal would significantly increase costs. Council chair Mel Rapozo had requested the estimate.
The Planning Department, which spent two years drafting the bill with emergency management and fire safety agencies, solicited multiple estimates from general contractors that came in far lower. The department and its partners had also carefully considered the affordability of each safety proposal during the process, the island’s planning director said.
Cowden and council member Bernard Carvalho, who is running against Rapozo for mayor, voted Wednesday in favor of moving the bill forward for its second reading by the full council, but were outvoted.
“At the end of the day, I feel that all the details are in here that can move this forward,” Carvalho said.
The five-member committee also approved an amendment to the bill regarding landscaping requirements between 5 to 30 feet of a home. The requirements apply to homes that are part of new subdivisions with more than 10 homes. The amendment, introduced by Cowden, allows for an alternative landscaping plan based on recommendations in a fire-resilient landscape guide originally designed for Lahaina but applicable statewide.
Council member KipuKai Kuali‘i introduced the motion Wednesday to defer the bill, saying that while he supports the proposal in general, he wanted more time to get additional contractor estimates for how much the new requirements may increase the cost of building a home. He also wanted to better understand an estimate that Shioi Construction, a general contractor that has built several multifamily projects on island, provided to the planning department.
The bill will next be heard at the council’s Oct. 21 planning committee meeting.
