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Testimony Re: Two Planning Commissions for Hawaii County <br /> This testimony is submitted concerning the document under consideration to establish <br /> two Planning Commissions for Hawaii County. My views on this matter have been <br /> shaped by my participation as the facilitator of the Kona Community Development Plan, <br /> Working Group on Governance. <br /> <br /> First, I want to commend Councilman Pilago for introducing legislation that delegates <br /> responsibility and authority to local communities so that they can control the essential <br /> features of their quality of life. Getting local government decisions and activities in the <br /> hands of the community is critical, and this proposal is an important catalyst. <br /> <br /> I believe it can be improved by going a step further: when a local community has <br /> completed its Community Development Plan and secured its passage into ordinance by <br /> <br /> the Council it should have the option of its own Planning Commission. This true <br /> <br /> community-based Planning Commission will be responsible for overseeing the <br /> <br /> implementation of the CDP, and should be tasked with reporting regularly to the District <br /> on progress, Such a community based Commission would do more than consider <br /> <br /> individual developments, but would have the capacity to engage in real planning for its <br /> <br /> District. <br /> <br /> Delegating responsibility and authority to local communities is awell-recognized <br /> principle of governance. I believe that Honolulu has a system of neighborhood boards <br /> <br /> through which local communities have opportunity to have a voice in what goes on in <br /> their neighborhoods. In the city where I lived for more than 30 years, the City Council <br /> created Advisory Neighborhood Commissions so that neighborhoods could make <br /> decisions that affected their quality of life and well-being. The critical element is that <br /> people take responsibility for themselves; no one makes decisions for another <br /> neighborhood. With agreed-to CDPs, each District has its own roadmap. With its own <br /> <br /> Planning Commission, it has a mechanism for overseeing its implementation. <br /> Ref. Tw enM~ G <br /> Ref. Date P 1"s 9nm <br /> <br />