COM 1051.003 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In keeping with our objectives, we have been active in this issue by participating in the L.U.C. proceedings opposing the Ka'upulehu Development request for a change of zone. We continue to oppose this developments application for a change of zone from the district classification of Open to the district classification of Project District for approximately 1,080 acres of land and for a Special Management Area Use Permit to allow for a resort residential community at that same location on the ahupua'a of Ka'upulehu. The developer has submitted an Integrated Resources Management Plan (IRMP) which is a detailed document of the history of Ka'upulehu. In its introduction, the IRMP states that "some of the traditional practices associated with Hawaiian culture are no longer observed, they live on in legends and chants and in the stories (mo'olelo) of the kupuna, the elders". We disagree! The Hawaiian culture is a living, breathing, constantly practiced culture. Our traditional practices are constantly in use. We know what our culture is, and who we are. The IRMP, while admirable, does not accurately define the Hawaiian culture. Rather, it is a developer's interpretation of a host culture that is molded to fit a development. The IRMP addresses management and identification of resources according to their interpretation. They have not factored in tha ::-pact of this development on a living breathing culture. There is no methodology in the IRMP, nor is there an enforcement plan. In 1996, the Kona Hawaiian Civic Club successfully initiated a federal lawsuit regarding dredging at Ka'upulehu, against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Hualalai Development Company. The focus of this suit was to protect the shoreline from dredging and to protect our natural resources. A result of this suit was a Cultural Resource Management Committee created to implement a similar integrated resource management plan. The Hualalai Cultural Resource Management Committee, as a part of their resource management plan, promised that the shore and its resources would not be affected by the presence of a golf course. Our people have stated, as recently as a month ago, that the opihi and limu are polluted in front of and along the coastline of the Hualalai Resort, Ka'upulehu Development's neighbor. Our gathering has been deeply affected. 2 -