Americans are virtuous fighters
Is America still the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Yes. Free. Freedom of speech and the press. Confirmation hearings that can be watched by anyone near a television. Lots of other freedoms, too numerous to list.
Yes. Brave. The bravery of Christine Ford sharing painful memories at the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh. She has sacrificed her privacy and the safety of herself and her family.
Brett Kavanaugh also shared his memories, personal calendars and diaries.
When and if any of our U.S. senators are dining at taxpayer/government expense in the Capitol dining room, I hope they are thinking about and discussing any recent findings that have been researched and verified by the FBI, the opinions and letters received from their constituents, and the testimony recorded during the Supreme Court nomination hearings.
Senators, whether you are standing up or sitting down during the confirmation vote, don’t lean too far to the left or too far to the right. You might topple over and hurt yourself.
I want to share a phone conversation I overheard. “I’ll talk with him/her tomorrow because there is no free lunch.”
Every American and all human beings need to fight for what is right. Let’s use our best attributes and do it safely.
Jean Frankel
Kona
Hawaii County needs four-plex zoning
In view of the housing shortage that has recently been exacerbated by the loss of homes to the volcano, now, more than ever, is the time for four-plex zoning. Upon reviewing the Hawaii Island zoning codes, I see that there is duplex zoning, but no four-plex provision. Zoning Code RD-3.73 allows a 2-unit duplex to be built on a 7,500 square foot lot (3,750 square feet of land per unit), but no similar four-plex zoning exists.
The RM-2.0 or RM-3.0 zoning codes come close, but parcels are scarce. If a prospective buyer or developer pursues any of the RM zoning codes, the likelihood is that a larger property (more than 10,000-15,000 square feet) would be involved. It then makes most economic sense to develop a large apartment complex. Such ownership would typically be a corporation or other group of investors, mostly from out of the area.
Four-plex zoning is important because so many federal government loan programs are designed for one-to-four unit residences. Take, for example, the reverse mortgage rules. If Hawaii had a new subdivision of 25 quarter-acre lots with four-plexes on them (100 dwelling units), here’s what could happen.
For each four-plex, a retired individual could obtain a reverse mortgage, then live in one of the four units while renting out the other three. Imagine a small community consisting of 25 on-site owners providing modestly-priced rentals to 75 other local families. And yes, it’s OK for the owner to collect rent from the other three tenants, without making mortgage payments on the entire underlying four-plex.
Does this sound like something we should be doing in Hawaii? What if the county government encouraged zoning change applications to a new Zoning Code RF-2.5 (four-plex on a 10,000 foot lot)? Without it, we’re simply zoned out.
James Donovan
Waikoloa