Zoning & Planning

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I have a long-running and good-natured contest with my Owners’ Counsel and ABA colleague Dwight Merriam about who gets items of interest “fastest with the mostest.”  More than a few times has he sent me items, only to find out that we’ve already posted on the subject, or there is a post in the

Looks like they’re at it again, a solution in search of a problem: a bill has been proposed in the Hawaii Legislature to create an “Environmental Court,” whose mission would be to handle “environmental disputes” arising under a wide range of state statutes:

…administrative proceedings and proceedings for declaratory judgment on the validity of agency

The Hawaii Supreme Court has been on a roll lately, giving us a series of decisions clarifying appellate procedure. So in the past couple of months, we’ve got cases about appealability, dismissing appeals for a brief not conforming to the rules, and what is a final appealable order. Good stuff for those

Coy Koontz, Jr., the prevailing property owner in Koontz v. St. Johns Water Management District, No. 11-1147 (June 25, 2013) joined our Pacific Legal Foundation colleague Jim Burling for an interview on Fox and Friends.

Kudos to Jim and Mr. Koontz for getting down to the studio

Here are the cert briefs in Kellberg v. Yuen, No. SCWC-12-0000266 (Haw. Jan. 22, 2014), the case in which the Hawaii Supreme Court held that there is only one “final decision” that a challenger must administratively appeal when objecting, and that due process requires the agency to give a challenger notice of the administrative

The Hawaii Supreme Court has issued an opinion that is very good for property owners and anyone who must use the administrative appeals process. [Disclosure: we represent the prevailing Petitioner in this case.]

In Kellberg v. Yuen, No. SCWC-12-0000266 (Jan. 22, 2014), the unanimous court, in a detailed opinion by Justice Pollack, held that

Next week, we’ll be in New Orleans for the 2014 edition of the ALI-CLE Eminent Domain program, now in its 31st year. 

As usual, my Owners’ Counsel colleagues Leslie Fields and Joe Waldo (the programming co-chairs) have put together a fantastic 2.5 day of programming, taught by expert faculty.  At 11:00 a.m. on

In Powell v. County of Humboldt, No. A137238 (Jan. 16, 2014), the California Court of Appeal held the County’s demand that landowners who sought an after-the-fact building permit for a carport and porch for their mobile home dedicate an overflight easement for the nearby Eureka airport did not run afoul of NollanDolan

Here are the written materials from today’s HSBA Appellate Section presentation on administrative law and appeals in Hawaii courts. 

A video of the presentation is posted above — it may be a bit dark, but no matter: all you really need is the sound, anyway. Listen to the audio-only session here:

GWK-RHT-HSBA-appellate-admin-appeals-1-13-2014

Administrative Appeals in