Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Maui County Council Invokes the "M" Word

Oops she did it again! Council Member Jo Anne Johnson introduced a moratorium bill like she did in 2002. The bill is not yet available at the Council's web site, but today's Pacific Business News reports that the bill would "halt new development in the [West Maui] region, particularly agricultural subdivisions."

Rarely legal, with much scrutiny from courts, a moratorium on development bill usually stops development for a specific period of time, in a specific area, for a public purpose; for example, a one year moratorium in a community plan region until the community plan goes into effect at a specific date certain.

However, even if a moratorium meets judicial scrutiny, its a blunt, unwieldy tool that raises complex and potentially expensive issues for the counties based on estoppel and vested rights claims by landowners.

No comments: