COM 0493.071 2000-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Thu, Jun 20, 2002 7:54 AM From Page 2 of 2 6y designating every last puka of shoreline for resort development, the basic truths of community growth, and environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability are ignored. For financial reasons, you might fear the day when no more coastal space will be left to build upon because you lack a plan for that day. [iut what you need to understand is that the crisis is not that we can't expect new resort construction to expand indefinitely. The real crisis facing you at this moment is that we can't duplicate the tiny bits of natural coastal space left on this island no matter what technology we use, and we can never duplicate the experiences of nature and culture once they are lost. A new paradigm is needed right now for economic balance, and developing the island's remaining open space has never been and never will be the answer to along-term solution to our economic future. A vision for the future of this island must include natural open space: enough recreational, spiritual, and social open space for the people who live here. This vision has been supported in all sorts of community meetings for decades. ay adding a layer of protection for these last undeveloped places, we're not so much putting a stop to inappropriate development as we are setting an ~~th hour goal to put things right again in our use of the a'ina before it's too late. We see the inevitability of population growth. We know that times and situations change; but we believe that if we use sustainable approaches to planning and allow Mother Nature half a chance, that these last few places can be preserved in their most natural condition for all of hlawaii's people. We know that this is possible because, for ~4 years, we've been part of a massive community effort to protect and preserve a stretch of land that some said could never happen. f3ut this community, its children, its business owners, its teachers, parents and kupuna have made it their business to insure that these places remain safe havens and geographical anchors for the community and the generations behind them. Please do the right, most visionary thing: designate Kohanaiki, O'oma, I<ealakekua, I<eopuka, and the others on the General Plan list as "open space"; and let's all move forward together with the business of finally, at long last, writing in stone the protection of these natural playgrounds and spiritual refuges for tomorrow as they are today.