Two Homes in Aina Haina Fined For Illegal Wedding Business

Two beachfront properties in Aina Haina have more than $140,000 in unpaid fines for illegal conducting weddings on site. One of the properties, located at 5505 Kalanianaole Highway, has been fined $250 per day since November 2011 by the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting. According the the department, the owners and tenants were warned in November 2010 and were given 30 days to stop their wedding business. The owners had requested and were granted two extensions, and after about a year of trying to resolve the issue, the fines were levied. The Department of Planning and Permitting has stated that they are now working with the city’s Corporation Counsel to place a lien on the properties. The owners have announced that they have temporarily suspended operations until the matter is settled.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 6-10-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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City Suspends Building Permits for Jeff Stone’s Development in Aina Haina

Jeff Stone, a local real estate developer in Hawaii, had previously received all of the necessary permits from the City and County of Honolulu to build two single-family homes in Aina Hiana. However, after several state officials noted that there may be a historical or cultural site on the development, the city has temporarily suspended these permits.

Chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, William Aila, had requested the city order that work be stopped at the project site until developer Jeff Stone completes an archaeological survey as requested by the State Historic Preservation Division. Aila wrote in an open letter, “The permit was not sent to SHPD prior to the issuance thus putting the division in the difficult position of having no opportunity to request an AIS (archaeological inventory survey) be conducted before the project started. Had SHPD been afforded an opportunity to review the permit, the city could have required that an AIS be done as a permit condition, avoiding the difficult situation we are now in.”

According to George Atta, the director designate of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, the property in Aina Haina was not flagged by State Historic Preservation Division and that no records were found in the Planning Department’s files of historic sites of cultural significance on the property.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-13-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Jeff Stone Project Maybe Halted Until Archaeological Survey Completed

Local developer Jeff Stone had planned to build two single-family homes at 1055 and 1057 Hao Street in the Aina Haina neighborhood. The Honolulu City Planning and Permitting Department has stated that the developer has met all requirements for obtaining building and grading permits. However, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Aina Haina Community Association are now requesting that all development be halted until an archaeological survey is completed of the area. The OHA and the AHCA believe that there may be some sacred cultural sites on the property that should not be disturbed.

Fabrizio Medosi from Pacific Atelier International LLC, the architectural firm hired by Stone, noted that only the State Historic Preservation Division can recommend that the developer conduct a survey. Medosi added that they will not halt construction and that, “The work we’re doing right now is all permitted.” Director designate of the Department of Planning and Permitting, George Atta, added, “The site hasn’t been officially inventoried in the past. It wasn’t mapped. While (the State Historic Preservation Department) does not have the authority to issue a stop work order since this is a city permit, it is the official agency regarding historic sites and its request would be a good enough basis for the city to issue a stop work order.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-4-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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Developer Jeff Stone Plans to Build Two Homes in Aina Haina

Real estate developer Jeff Stone would like to construct two single family homes at 1055 and 1057 Hao Street in Aina Hiana on the island of Oahu. Each home will be two stories tall and the Planning Department has already issued building and grading permits for these two houses. However, members of the Aina Haina Community Association have raised a series of objections and concerns including fears that additional homes would be building on the 9.5 acres of land that Jeff Stone owns. Community Association members note that there are some soil concerns in the area and that building new homes may also nursery the neighborhood’s drainage system.

The City Planning Department believes that these objections are not enough to warrant a delay in the project. Acting planning director, Jiro Sumada, stated, “These permits are ministerial in nature. As long as they meet the requirements and codes for the city, we will issue a building permit. If there are any measures to be taken to minimize and eliminate any soil conditions, that will be taken care of by the on-site inspector.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 2-13-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com

Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed in Aina Haina

Advanced Health Care Corp., an Idaho company, has announced that they would like to build a skilled nursing facility in Aina Haina. The company stated that they are under contract to purchase a 2.4 acre property located at 5415 Kalanianaole Highway. The plan is to build a 48,000 square foot facility which would have a total of fifty rooms, which would cater mostly to seniors on Medicare and Medicade. However, there are several major contigencies regarding the actual purchase of the property, and the company hopes to finish its state regulatory and permitting process before the transaction is scheduled to close in September 2013. If everything moves according to schedule, the facility would be built in 2014 and open in early 2015.

However, the project does face some opposition from the community. President of the Aina Haina Community Association, Wayson Chow, stated that concerns include how a large commercial facility on the beachfront would impact traffic and other shoreline concerns. Chow added, “To build a health care facility on an oceanfront property that’s previously been hit by the 1946 tsunami endangers the safety of patients and employees, and it would cause substantial disruption of the limited Aina Haina tsunami refuge facility. It is unwise and highly unreasonable.”

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 12-10-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com