Maui County Delivers Final Blow

[Shaka Doug]

Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares dealt the final blow to the CORA (Commercial Ocean Recreation Activities) folks on August 12th. Thanks for the HEADS UP Maui Parks Department!!!!! Are you nuts? Or just completely incompetent?

The new rules, Chapter 10-102, (which we have been fighting against since early last year) were secretly signed into law by Tavares and Horcajo and the news finally leaked out to me today. Fifteen days after the fact!! No notice in the newspaper or letter in the mail. Not even a friendly phone call!! They claim they don't even know how to contact us!!! WHAT???? Are you kidding me? No, They're not. I called the Maui Department of Parks and Recreation today when I got the news and the guy (Enforcement Officer 'George') who answered the phone just told me he couldn't answer my questions (before I even asked anything) then he laughed like it was a big joke! I am completely disgusted by the way they are handling this and you should be too! The new rules are supposed to go into effect on Sept 1, 2009. These people don't even have the common courtesy or dignity to even tell us they did it!! They apparently do not care that they will strangle our livelihood. This in turn will trickle down and further damage our islands economy. Good Job! Way to go Mayor!

Check it out:

http://www.co.maui.hi.us/documents/Parks%20and%20Recreation/Recreation%20Division/Department%20Rules/Adoption%20of%20Chapter%2010-102%20Rules.PDF

So I ask you all, what can we do about this? Do any of you care that they are doing this to us? Do you have any suggestions on how we can reverse this?

I may be forced out of business but I will not be forced to stop scuba diving. By the way, I'm now offering original signed artwork. If I'm forced into early retirement I might actually have more time to go diving, which is my most favorite hobby ever. Come take a look, maybe we can go take a dive together if you have the time.

Here's one of my art pieces, I made it myself:

Let me know if you'd like one...and please get back to me with some answers to my questions. I could really use some help here.

Outlaw diving and only outlaws will dive!

 

[kidspot]

I wish it were a surprise, but this seems to be the norm for politics on Maui :S - I do believe that black 3000psi mentioned the best way to fight this was with constitutional law - Maybe contact him for possible starting points into that process - I'm not sure how you go about challenging something like this in the courts, but he may know.

 

[socaldiver]

Aloha Doug,

I have come to believe Maui County Council doesn't care about the little people. In watching council meetings they are for anybody or anything that can line their pockets.

My advise to you and anyone else upset with their lack of compassion is to vote them out. It would be nice to put people in office, on all levels, that look out for the small business people and listen to the cries for help and understanding.

 

[scottitheduck]

I love this one:

CORA instructors and dive masters shall
affix identification on the buoyancy
compensator or air tank that identifies them
as an instructor and their CORA business
affiliation;

How do I apply for the position to come through and inspect all tanks and BCs? Can I snorkel over you guys and free-dive down with a clipboard and marker? Do I get to write citations and have a dry erase board with names and checks after them...... maybe I'll use gold stars to identify those in compliance. Oh the options are endless.

I'm still pouring over the PDF file and all of it's Newspeak.

 

[scottitheduck]

PS.... what are you going to do with the design? T shirts? Stickers? Lawn-signs? Illegal billboards?

G

 

[Thalassamania]

First I'd challenge their definition of business in court, asking for immediate injunctive relief. I don't think that:

"Business" means any commercial enterprise or
establishment, including, but not limited to, sole
proprietorships, joint ventures, partnerships,
corporations, fraternal organizations, clubs,
unorganized associations, or any other legally
cognizable entity, whether for profit or not for
profit, and includes all employees of the business or
any independent contractors associated with the
business."

will fly.

Similarly:

§10-102-22 Instruction. Permittees and CORA
operators shall be responsible for the safety of
patrons or students under their charge. Permittees
and CORA operators shall determine whether the
physical capability and experience of students and
patrons are adequate for safe participation under
existing ocean and surf conditions. Each permitted
activity shall be subject to the following
restrictions:

is quite impossible, since "safe" means "without risk" and there are all sorts of risks that are outside of the ability of the CORA (and even the County) to control.

Frankly, if I were teaching on MAUI, I'd teach for free, and either only teach people who bought personal gear, prior to the course, at a very high markup; or I'd access a large processing fee for anyone who, after the course was over, wanted the convenience of a certification card.

 

[Brandon]

I had a longer post... but erased it.

Instead, I'll just write this:

This is the stupidest and most restrictive set of ordinances I've ever seen. By their logic - Maui will never be able to have an organized dive club, nor have any dive clubs visit and conduct organized dives - unless they obtain the very elusive and complex permit, and abide by those rules.

Heck, it seems the rules are restrictive enough that even a small, informal dive group (an "unorganized association"), could run afoul of the laws...

And this is notwithstanding the myriad of problems for you commercial guys. Crikey!

Jeebus, I knew it was going to be bad, but this is too much.

Good luck guys - especially you Doug. Keep da faith bruddah.

-B

 

[Shaka Doug]

Stay tuned...someone somewhere told me of something called a loophole. Imagine if there were loopholes here?

SHOW ME THE LOOPHOLES!

The new rules as I read them directly interfere with the safety of scuba. By limiting when and where we dive they create potentially hazardous situations for divers. The also create congestion and competition at permitted sites. The same is exactly also true for the other CORA disciplines (Ocean Snorkeling, Ocean Kayaking, Ocean Surfing, Ocean Windsurfing, and Ocean Kiteboarding). Why do they not recognize this? I have specifically pointed it out to them on several occassions myself.

 

[Web Monkey]

I love this one:

CORA instructors and dive masters shall
affix identification on the buoyancy
compensator or air tank that identifies them
as an instructor and their CORA business
affiliation;

How do I apply for the position to come through and inspect all tanks and BCs? Can I snorkel over you guys and free-dive down with a clipboard and marker? Do I get to write citations and have a dry erase board with names and checks after them...... maybe I'll use gold stars to identify those in compliance. Oh the options are endless.

They do it in France.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/300289-scuba-police.html


Terry

 

[KrisB]

Stay tuned...someone somewhere told me of something called a loophole. Imagine if there were loopholes here?

SHOW ME THE LOOPHOLES!

The new rules as I read them directly interfere with the safety of scuba. By limiting when and where we dive they create potentially hazardous situations for divers. The also create congestion and competition at permitted sites. The same is exactly also true for the other CORA disciplines (Ocean Snorkeling, Ocean Kayaking, Ocean Surfing, Ocean Windsurfing, and Ocean Kiteboarding). Why do they not recognize this? I have specifically pointed it out to them on several occassions myself.

Doug,

The old rules interfered with safe diving and other beach activities, too.

You'd think that, within reason, they'd want as many trained professionals on the beach as they could, if the goal were safety and preservation of natural resources.