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Sunshine Memo 10-3
Sufficiency of Notice
OIP was asked whether a meeting notice for the Land
Use Committee of the Maui County Council (the “Land Use Committee”)
concerning the rezoning of a parcel of land was rendered insufficient
under the Sunshine Law where the street address of the parcel was
incorrectly noted.
The agenda item at issue listed a bill for an ordinance to change
the zoning of a 25 acre parcel of land (the “Church Parcel”)
from Agricultural District to Public/Quasi-Public District to allow
for the development and operation of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church
and School. The agenda item included the parcel’s tax map
key number, but listed an incorrect address, which OIP understood
was not anywhere near the Church Parcel.
OIP found that a correct street address was material to a proper
notice because it would allow a member of the public to reasonably
identify the property that was subject to the rezoning. Although
the tax map key number was correct, the fact remained that the street
address given for the Church Parcel in fact identified a different
property than the one to be considered for rezoning. A member of
the public interested in the rezoning of the Church Parcel understandably
might not, from the defective notice given, have had the information
necessary to decide whether to participate in the meeting. OIP believes
that it is reasonable for the public to rely on the street address
alone to identify the parcel subject to rezoning. OIP thus concluded
that the erroneous street address rendered the notice insufficient
under the Sunshine Law.
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