Land Use Round Up

A round up of posts of possible interest to readers:

• Koloa Creekside sues county -- a developer is suing the County of Kauai for civil rights violations, and unlawful exactions:

The 18-page lawsuit names as defendants the county of Kaua‘i, the Planning Commission, and the Planning Department and its director. It asks for the Koloa Creekside Estates project to be found exempt from the Koloa-Po‘ipu-Kalaheo Development Plan and, if not, the imposed conditions to be declared unlawful.

The developer also opposes some requirements that it was previously willing to concede — such as a land dedication, impact fees and construction schedule, the lawsuit states.

Attorneys argue in the case for automatic approval of the permits because the county failed to meet its own deadlines.

• Charley Foster at Planet Kauai adds his comments on the NY Times story about the NIMBY phenomenon in Hawaii.

• Jesse Souki at Hawaii Land Use Law blog digests HAWSCT's latest water law decision, In re Contested Case Hearing on the Water Use Permit Application Filed by Kukui (Molokai), Inc., No. 24856 (Dec. 26, 2007), here.  Jesse also comments about Honolulu's proposal for an "affordable housing" exaction here.

• Jay Fidell at Hawaii Public Radio recently had a ThinkTechHawaii program on the possibilities for a constitutional convention.  Podcast here.  HPR news has posted a summary podcast here.

• In Bering Strait Citizens for Responsible Resource Development v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 07-35506 (9th Cir. Jan. 3, 2008), the Ninth Circuit upheld a gold mining permit issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act.