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Page 1 of 2 <br /> Murashige, Laura <br /> From: Marni Herkes [marnih@turquoise.net] <br /> Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 4:37 PM <br /> To: Isbell, Virginia; akpilago@co.hawaii.hi.us; Fred Holschuh'; Donald Ikeda; Harry Kim; 'Robert <br /> Jacobson'; Higa, Stacy <br /> Cc: 'Marni Herkes' <br /> Subject: HC Bills 78 and 79 <br /> April 19, 2005 <br /> TO THE HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ~ , <br /> The Honorable Virginia Isbell, Chair ~ <br /> % _ <br /> O - <br /> FROM Marni Herkes <br /> RE: Bills 78 and 79 <br /> .5 <br /> ALOHA: ' <br /> I would like to encourage you to support Bills 78 and 79. This is the time for the County to-begin tc~ <br /> acquire lands that will be forever protected. We are asking for the 2% again, and we hope we hav~the <br /> money to do it. <br /> This conservation Fund could set aside available monies for unexpected opportunities. It provides <br /> leverage for public funding. It provides areas for supervised public recreation. It saves the county money <br /> in the short term by preventing development in hazard areas and it boosts revenue in the long term via a <br /> diversified economy and increased land values. <br /> "the county and the state must work together to buy and protect land for open space, for water shed, for <br /> recreation and even just for better planning. We have the Trust for Public Lands and The Nature <br /> Conservancy who have shown us the way. Maui has done a great job of putting together an advocacy <br /> group working with the county to identify areas to be protected. <br /> I would suggest that the top areas to protect are the watershed areas, beaches and coastal areas, areas that <br /> prevent erosion, flooding and landslides, native forest areas and native Hawaiian historical and cultural <br /> areas but there are lots of other ideas. <br /> Urgency exists to do this now. The increasing pressure to put property rights above zoning and land use <br /> policies is evident, these issues are being decided in the courts across the country and the national will is <br /> swinging in favor of the property owner rights. Oregon's Hood River is under attack after voters <br /> approved Measure 37 which is wrecking the "best-in-the-nation" record of reining in sprawl. This <br /> reflects people's conflicts where voters favor protection of farm land and open space and actually vote <br /> down restrictions on property rights. Smart Growth laws will only stand up until they get to the courts. <br /> Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi all have passed property right laws. <br /> Let's get out ahead of the issue of property rights and set in place a measure that will put these important <br /> and valuable ]ands in public hands. Let's put our money where our desires are. This may be seen as a <br /> reverse Mahele, and maybe it is, but I encourage you to put the mechanisms in place to protect our lands <br /> <br /> that are important to us. This is our land and we can protect it without taking away rights from anyone. <br /> We can put in place some timeless land use policies and begin to respect the land again. <br /> Comm. No._ _ <br /> Ref. T rwerd <br /> Ref. Uote <br /> 4/18/2005 <br /> <br />