FAQs
This page was written pre 2003 so is sorely out of date. There is some useful info but I really need to update a lot of it... I'll get to it eventually, but other things are higher priority.
According to the CC&R's [10(b) xiii, pg11], it is not allowed to park a boat on the street for more than 24 consecutive hours. According to CC&R's [10(e), pg12], it is not allowed to keep or store any "watercraft" on your Lot. This means jet skis, canoes, etc must be kept in the garage.This large brown toad (not frog) found throughout KB was originally introduced to control cane beetles, but it is now considered a pest species. When threatened, it is able to "shoot" a highly toxic milky venom from the skin and glands on its back. This bufotoxin can lead to profuse salivation, twitching, vomiting, shallow breathing, and collapse of the hind limbs in your pet if bitten, ingested, or in contact with mucous membranes. This toxin can cause temporary paralysis or even death in some small mammals and predators (Bureau of Rural Sciences 1998, Aguirre and Poss 1999).
The toxin is usually excreted only when the toad is scared but there may be some on the skin at all times, so if you touch one, do not rub your eyes, and wash your hands well. However, it is unlikely that your pet will be affected if toads sit in their drinking water overnight, as almost all water on Maui has had toads sitting in it at some time or another.
Some people in Australia died when they tried Bufo "toad licking" as a way of getting high!
Maui County has a Leash Law (Code 6.04.040) which requires dogs to be leashed at all times, or else restrained within a fenced yard, kennel, or inside your house. At no time is it legal to let your dog run loose -- not in the park, on the street, or at the beach. When walking your dog, you are legally required to clean up any dog poop.
Code 6.04.010 defines "excessive barking" as continuous and/or incessant barking, baying, crying, or howling or any other noise which disturbs any person at any time of day or night for ten consecutive minutes or intermittently for twenty minutes (unless the barking is due to a trespasser). After 3 barking violation complaints are received by the Humane Society, the case goes directly to the Prosecuting Attorney's office. The owner can be fined $100 per barking incident.
What to do about roaming dogs:
- If feasible, inform the dog owners of the problem to give them a chance to fix it; they may not even be aware that you are bothered.
- If that doesn't help, call the Humane Society at 877-3680 between 8:00 am & 4:30 pm. Aimee Anderson is the Animal Control Supervisor.
- File a Leash Law complaint providing a description of the dog, the address of the dog owner, and the dog license number if you know it. The Humane Society can look it up for you using a name or an address (it will save time if there are future complaints). Your identity is kept confidential, and the Society will handle the problem from here on in.
- An officer will always visit the dog owner if a complaint is filed.
- If the officer witnesses the leash law violation, or you can provide a photo of the dog outside his yard with no leash, the dog owner will be fined $50 for a first offence. A second offence is $100, a 3rd $200, and then it goes to court (you are not involved). The dog will be impounded if found running free on the streets.
- If the dog is not licensed, the owner additionally has to purchase a license at $15.25 for a non-neutered dog, and $6.25 for a neutered dog. Maui County Code 6.04.020 states that all dogs over the age of 4 months must be licensed. Dog licenses must be current, clearly visible, and worn by your dog at all times. Dog licenses are not transferable from one owner to the next.
Most insurance companies, eg. Allstate, will not issue you homeowners' insurance if you have a vicious dog. The list of dogs considered "vicious" varies from company to company, but most include Pitt Bulls, Chows, & Huskys. If your dog has bitten someone, no one will insure you. There is some type of special policy provided by Mary at Allstate (242-8480) for $21 or $31.
Electric Bill for Kuau Bayview
This bill has been between $25 and $27 per month since October 20, 1997 when A&B first turned it over to the Association. The electricity runs the automatic timer which controls the irrigation system for the common area at the front entrance. As of July 2003 a total of $1849.52 has been paid to MECO for such a small amount of electricity that it doesn't even register on the meter. The monthly charge is a minimum fee to maintain a MECO account.
It was discovered in July 2013 that a battery-powered DIG timer had been installed at the front entrance in Dec 2011 but no one on the Board or the management company or the landscaping company had bothered cancelling the MECO account, so the HOA paid for electricity for 9 months for nothing! The account was cancelled in July 2012 so we no longer have an electric bill.
There are several different types of gecko in Hawaii: the house gecko, Indo-Pacific gecko, tree gecko, & stump-toed gecko. One owner expressed concern that geckoes may carry salmonella. Geckoes are reptiles and it is a well-known fact that reptiles can harbor the salmonella bacteria.
According to an epidemiology specialist at the State Department of Health (984-8213), and a wildlife biologist at the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (984-8100), humans are not normally at risk of infection from geckoes. If it were a human health concern in Hawaii there would be warnings everywhere. I could find no one at either department who had ever heard of even one case of salmonella poisoning in Hawaii related to geckoes. Hawaiians consider geckoes in the house good luck, plus they eat bugs
All of us would like nothing better than to abolish the Association, the Board, the rules, the fees, and just live in our homes and be left alone. Why have a HOA at all? Who needs it?
Ku'au Bayview at Paia is a nonprofit corporation founded by A&B in May 1996. It is a legal entity and we each acquired a non-severable membership in this corporation when our names were put on the deeds to our Lots. Whether we like it or not, the corporation owns certain common property (see 'Retention Basin') which must be maintained, landscaped, and insured. These common expenses have averaged over $24,000 per year for the past 6 years, and we have to pay them! The purpose of the HOA is not to enforce the CC&R's -- it is to collect fees to pay the common expenses. This is a huge amount of money from which we derive virtually no benefit. We have no swimming pool or tennis courts. The retention basin is nothing but a liability to us. We have nothing to show for the $176,000+ we have paid so far except for some mediocre and, in some cases, abysmal landscaping.
The primary mission of the current Board is to devise an efficient and economical property management system in order to reduce these expenses as far as possible. At the same time, we would like to use the new Grievance Procedures to start enforcing some of the CC&R's so that owners who are letting their lots slide, will have to bring them up to the proper standard to maintain the quality of our neighborhood. Perhaps we need to require owners who rent their property to hire a landscaper rather than rely on their tenants.
Many owners have complained over the years about the BMX track in the back retention basin, and more recently about people riding motorcycles on the jogging path in the park. The Parks Board was supposed to install a post & rail gate across the gap left in the fence where the solid rock on that corner prevented them from installing posts, but have not yet done so. Please feel free to call Bob Straub at 572-1836 and encourage him to follow up on the gate.
It is illegal for motorcycles or dirt bikes to be in the park or the retention basin. Signs have been posted, so if the noise is bothering you, Leiland directs people to call the police (244-6400).
- the official opening date of the county park mauka of Kuau Bayview was July 2003
- it is open to the general public (it does not belong to Kuau Bayview)
- it is owned by the County of Maui and administered by the East Maui Parks & Recreation Department. Leiland Parker is in charge at 573-5529.
- hours of use are from sun up to sun down; other times it will be locked by the County
- there will be no lights at night
- intent of the park is a passive one, ie. the playing fields are for practice, not games [this turned out to be untrue]
- the layout is as follows:
- a paved parking lot for 30 cars just inside the entrance
- a racetrack-style 5' wide paved path around the entire perimeter of the flat area (for walking, running, roller-blading -- *not* motorcycles)
- one kid-size baseball diamond for both Mustang's and Bronco's with a chain-link back stop
- one soccer field
- a large irrigated & mowed grass area throughout the flat area of the basin
- concrete pads with picnic tables (recycled plastic) around the perimeter
- irrigated shade trees
- a designated area for a children's play structure... the community must either raise money or seek grants to pay for the play structure ($25,000+)
- portable toilets are provided
- the grass and porta potties will be maintained by the County Parks Department
- there was not enough money to install irrigation or ground cover on the sloping berms
- the community will have to donate plants/labor to landscape the berms (low maintenance items only)
There have been complaints about people parking cars on their lawn. This is a violation of the CC&R's p12, 10 (e), "shall not store or keep upon the lot any vehicle(s), watercraft(s), or unsightly material", and you will be fined if the Board receives a written grievance.
There have also been complaints about vehicles parked facing the wrong way on the street. This is illegal and you could receive a $35 ticket from the police. Please try to be considerate of your neighbors' aesthetics.
Parking on the Street more than 24 hours
[ violation of CC&Rs, p11, 10 (b) xiii ]This is an ongoing problem in Kuau Bayview for which there seems to be no easy solution. Cars parked on the street inhibit service by emergency vehicles, and recently the Postal Delivery person complained that she could not access the mail boxes and was concerned about not being able to see children who may jump out from behind cars. There have been several suggestions over the years but none implemented:
- issue permits in special circumstances and have the others towed
- have legal parking alternate from one side of the street to the other every other day so that the police can ticket violators
- use of County Traffic Ordinance 10.48.110 All night parking.
"No person shall park a vehicle on any roadway for a period of time longer than sixty minutes between the hours of two a.m. and six a.m. of any day; subject, however, to the exceptions granted authorized emergency vehicles, pursuant to this title." (Ord. 413 § 10-13.9, 1965)
The police do not enforce this ordinance unless there is a complaint, but they will ticket and tow if requested. This is not a very neighborly solution.
- In 2001 Don Varni's Board proposed hiring a 'Security Patrol' to issue placards, knock on doors, cite, tow, etc. Besides the enormous expense ($105/mo per owner) & invasion of privacy, having strangers patrolling our streets would represent a security risk in itself and would not solve the problem. Proposed Parking Rules.
- Do not allow owners to convert their garages to living space unless their driveway is big enough to accomodate all their vehicles.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or Clean Water Act, originally enacted in 1948, is the principal law governing pollution of the Nation's waterways. The 1987 amendments directed states to develop and implement nonpoint source pollution management programs & groundwater protection activities. Since about 1995, as part of Hawaii's coastal nonpoint pollution control efforts, all new coastal residential developments were required to be responsible for their own "nonpoint source discharge", ie. stormwater runoff from the Lots.
Prior to 1995, Kuau Bayview was a cane field. The original drainage path from the upper fields came right down where Lae Street is now into the ocean. A&B spent a million dollars building the berm that separates the mauka lots from Makana Park and the upper retention basin (both owned by the County) in order to change the drainage patterns. The lower retention basin (owned by KB) is designed specifically to prevent runoff from the streets & lots of KB from draining into the ocean.
The Spreckelsville subdivision near Kainoa Center had to have a retention basin built into each Lot. Thus it is federal law that has landed us with this retention basin which makes it impossible for us ever to disband the Association. Kuau Bayview HOA will be responsible for the retention basin and the entranceway forever.
The CC&R's item 10 (b) viii (page 10) states "No visible antennas are allowed"; however, they really have no jurisdiction as they have been pre-empted by federal law.
In Section 207 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress mandated the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact regulations to ensure that video programming services (ie. television services) were "easily available and as convenient as possible" for consumers to obtain. As a result of Section 207 and the FCC's subsequent Orders and Rulings, no Homeowners' Association can ban or prohibit the installation of either a television antenna or satellite dish on any portion of an owner's lot. The full article is entitled 'Satellite Warfare'.
As a courtesy, perhaps owners could try to install the dishes against the house so that they do not extend out from it where they could block someone's view.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is illegal on County streets. It is legal only in designated areas. Fortunately, there is a skateboard park in Kihei and an excellent one at the Paia Youth & Cultural Center right here in Paia which opened in 2003.
Blaze Anderson created the Stonewave Sk8 Park on the west side of the PYCC right next to the beach. It is an awesome creation in an awesome setting. The 10,750 sq ft skate park is constructed of 108 cubic yards of concrete, Shotcrete (a “sticky” spray-on concrete mixture), wood, and Skatelite surfacing on the ramps. Originally conceived in 1996, there were many years of fundraising, planning, and designing before construction began in April 2002. After much red tape, unforseen obstacles, and more than $146,000.00, Blaze's vision is finally coming to fruition. Some examples of what is in store for the intrepid:
Bowls Galore Blue Ramps Air Time There will be a Pro Shop & Snack Bar there too, all run by the kids. To become a member of the PYCC, call 579-8354. They have all kinds of great programs and activities for kids 6 to 18.
According to the CC&R's (10 (b) xii, page10), "Roof-mounted composite solar collector & water storage tank systems are not allowed." This means the Solahart brand by Sun King is *not* allowed.
There are several Solahart systems currently in KB, which is indicative of how unfamiliar everyone is with the CC&R's. Because of the huge cost involved in bringing these owners into compliance, perhaps we could just make sure that from now on no more Solaharts are installed, and that if an existing one fails and needs to be replaced, that it is replaced with the acceptable type which has the hot water tank in the garage. Or else change the CC&R's to allow this type of system. It is apparently more energy & cost efficient, although somewhat of an eyesore for the neighbors.
Maui Electric may still be offering a rebate on approved solar hot water heating systems. There is a lot of good info about going solar on the HECO website.
Flat lenses and shields have been installed on all 14 street lights in Kuau Bayview. Flat lenses are now the standard type of light installed in new developments on Maui partly to reduce the effect of light pollution on activities at the Haleakala observatory.Street Trees: David Sakoda, County Arborist, Beautification Section 270-7397
Thanks to Ann's efforts in persuading Mayor Arakawa, Sue King, and David Sakoda, the KB street trees recently received some long overdue structural trimming. There had been no funds budgeted for this and we were expected to pay for it ourselves, so this saved owners several thousand dollars.
The large Formosan Koa trees (& other types) growing along the sidewalks in front of our houses do not belong to us; they belong to the County who will fine you $1000 if you chop one down. The County Ordinance states:
At the bottom of page 8 of the CC&R's [10 (a) i] it states: "Each Lot shall be used only for single-family residential purposes, regardless of whether applicable zoning or other laws permit a more intensive or different use." No 'Bed & Breakfast' establishments are allowed in KB, and no vacation rentals (any rental less than 180 days). Some owners also object to partial house rentals to non-family members, focusing on the "single-family" aspect.12.24A.100 Prohibited acts.
A.Whoever shall wilfully, maliciously, or negligently mutilate, cut down, dig up, burn, or otherwise injure any street or park tree, or other ornamental plant or shrub, growing on any public way or in any public park of the county, unless authorized by the director of public works where such is located in a public right-of-way or by the director of parks and recreation, where such is located in a county park, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars or imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both.
B. Whoever shall fail to maintain by watering and weeding an abutting street tree or planting strip, or both, pursuant to section 12.24A.070(E) of this chapter, or fail to remove obstructions pursuant to section 12.24A.090 of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a violation and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500.
C. Whoever shall wilfully, maliciously, or negligently mutilate, cut down, dig up, burn, or otherwise injure any exceptional tree shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both. (Ord. 1944 ยง 2 (part), 1990)
Water Bill for KB
The water bill for KB has been very erratic since 4-15-99. Following is the consumption in 1000's of gallons for each two month period: 71, 52, 43, 574 (not a typo!), 214, 63, 76, 97, 116, 116, 135, 142, 85, 117,151.
Water Bill
$4,250.04
1,724.79
2,115.95
1,416.02
2,017.54
1,063.35
276.30
The water department came out in 6/01 and verified that the meter was functioning correctly. There was no logical reason to explain these fluctuations. There were originally 12 zones. As of May 2013 all have been capped off and the valve removed except three which are being used./p>
In general the bill was much too high for six years; water (a precious resource) was being wasted. For years we had been watering all around the perimeter of the retention basin where weeds and haole koa were thriving. Some areas were being over-watered, and the Association was paying for some owners' personal irrigation costs. Unauthorized modifications to the HOA irrigation system were discovered which diverted HOA water into three private lots. As of May 2013, these tamperings have all been capped off.
Sato & Associates (244-9265) installed the original irrigation system.
