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4 1711716/696:05 PM ~t12 <br /> FAX TO: FULL COUNCIL <br /> t <br /> FROM: Janice Palma; tel#325-.1416 <br /> January 29, 1997 PLEASE ENTER INTO THE RECORD <br /> This !s a copy of a letter sent to West Hawaii Today - C~~ /'=(•l <br /> RE: WHITE HAT AND NOHONA PARTNERS KAhAOA SUBD ISIONS: <br /> '97 FEB 'i PFl `i 2`t <br /> Hawaii County is undergoing sweeping changes that m~t~lde~t~r~onsider <br /> alarming. Democratic processes are being lost daily. Did yoG~tA~t~t~land <br /> representatives have asked the state legislature to waive all rules over our county which <br /> relate to development. health and safety; and that Hawaii's mayor would like the State <br /> Land Use Commission to be totally abolished? In the name of "home rule," essential checks <br /> and balances -the hallmark of democratic government -would be stripped from laws that <br /> protect our island and people. Our mayor is using high-powered legal consultants (at <br /> taxpayers' expense) to overhaul basic protections which our government provides. <br /> Proper planning is what makes a community prosper or struggle. It goes hand in <br /> hand with crime levels (are free, healthy recreational activities available close-by so kids are <br /> healthfully occupied?), time we spend with our families (do you have to drive an hour each <br /> way to work since Ito small businesses exist closer to home?), health (is a smokestack or <br /> landfill located up-wind from your house?), safety (are sidewalks provided on streets wZth <br /> acceptable grade) and many other day-to-day components of our lives. Each good decision <br /> in planning prevents a multitude of future problems for us and our children. <br /> Hawaii County is in a critical planning mode with fires breaking out everywhere. In <br /> December, the Contested Case procedure -one in which concerned citizens are given a <br /> chance to question decisions made by appointed officials -was gutted. Like most people, <br /> you probably didn't even know such a procedure existed, no less that it was available to <br /> you; Though imperfect, it has been used effectively -like in the Mauna Lani Marina debate <br /> - in promoting citizen involvement in planning. One would imagine that this procedure <br /> would be made more accessible and understandable, but that is not the case. The proced re ~ <br /> has been made more useless and costly -giving our county representatives unbalanced O z <br /> power over planning. "Red tape," decried by county °plannersr" is after_-a bonus ±o the <br /> ~ ~ s. <br /> community in making sure its needs are met. 1r1 <br /> ~ m <br /> Subdivisions are called "affordable" to skirt public input in the planning Z ~ <br /> process. Jon Gomes (proposed Keonelehua Heights) and Bill Boyles (University o <br /> Heights) are using plaruing loopholes in Kalaoa to immunize themselves against o a`_ <br /> providing standard amenities to their potential buyers. Safely graded streets, e z ~ ct <br /> sidewalks, parks, adequate runoff control, community benefit assessments (i.e., ~ ~ ~ ~ <br /> donations to schools for impact of increased populations in the area), and other <br /> safety and quality of life legalities are being nixed for bigger profits. Planning rules, <br /> though pooh-poohed by Yamashiro's appointed planning director, Virginia Goldstein, <br /> are meant to protect residents from dangerous, shoddy, crime-ridden neighborhoods. <br /> <br /> The developers can hit and run through what Goldstein euphemistically calls "fast- <br /> tracking." Shockingly, Goldstein also says she can't understand why all subdivisions <br /> aren't done this way (denying citizens their say in how their communities develop <br /> ~3o.o,Z. <br /> <br />