QUESTION: Our friends are returning to their oceanfront family home along Kalanianaole Highway. Someone recently bought the home next door with the intention of turning it into a wedding facility. The zoning in this area is R-10, which does not permit commercial use in a residential area. How can the new neighbors get a permit to run such a business under current zoning laws? Who can our friends file a complaint with before it is too late and it is a done deal?
ANSWER: No permit has been issued for a wedding facility at the address you provided, and the property remains unoccupied at this point, according to the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
An inspector did not find that an illegal commercial wedding operation was being conducted on the property.
As far as the department knows, there are two residential properties in the Aina Haina area where commercial weddings are taking place, said Art Challacombe, manager of customer services.
Weddings are legally being held at 5253 Kalanianaole Highway, property of former City Councilman John Henry Felix. After years of controversy, the weddings have been deemed “legal as a home occupation,” Challacombe said.
The other property, at 5505 Kalanianaole, owned by model-entrepreneur Kathy Ireland, “is not legal and is under civil fine penalties from our department,” he said. “The Kathy Ireland case is still pending.”
The department issued a Notice of Violation on Nov. 19, 2010, followed by a Notice of Order on Oct. 12, 2011. The owner filed an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 10, 2011.
A hearing was scheduled for April 19. However, “After numerous delays, at the date of the actual hearing, the appellant withdrew the appeal, but the violation still continues,” Challacombe said.
As of Friday, civil fines totaled $95,000, he said.
QUESTION: I’m trying to find out what the eligibility requirements for food stamps are. Can you help me?
ANSWER: You can find the information on the website of the state Department of Human Services, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — hawaii.gov/dhs/self-sufficiency/benefit/FNS#Who — or by calling 643-1643.
Hawaii’s Food Stamp Program officially was renamed SNAP in October 2008, in keeping with the new federal name for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s program.
MAHALO
>> To a dear lady who returned the handbag I had left in a cart at Longs Kailua last month. I immediately returned to Longs and asked the cashier if they had seen the bag. The manager was on the phone and motioning to me that he had my bag, which was turned in by a woman who saw me drive away but could not get my attention. — Grateful Kailua resident
>> To the person who picked up my new, red hardback novel from the women’s restroom at Whole Foods and took it to the lost and found in November. — P.C.
>> To Wayne, a postal employee. At 5:30 a.m. Nov. 21, I was at the Kailua Post Office buying stamps at the self-service kiosk for flat-rate boxes and a large envelope. Wayne arrived to collect the contents of the self-serve bins and noticed that my non-flat-rate envelope was too bulky to qualify for the postage I had purchased. He showed me how to get the additional 44 cents in stamps, but when I groaned about charging such a small amount to my credit card, he graciously offered to get the postage. I insisted that he take two quarters. When I arrived home later that day, in our mail box was an envelope with six cents in change and a receipt. Wayne’s action demonstrates the continued friendliness and good will of the Kailua Post Office in general and Wayne in particular. — Kalena Hayden
ON VACATION
Happy holidays to all our readers. Kokua Line will be on vacation, returning in early January.
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
