2008-06-20 TKONACDP - Laserfiche WebLink

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RHO: Thank you, Lily. Questions from the Commissioners? None? Lily, I just want to let you know that I’m still paying taxes, too. You have a long time more to live; so you’ll have to pay more. Mikahala. ROY: Aloha, Members of the Planning Commission. Thank you for your time. And to my Kona people, aloha. My name is Mikahala Roy. My address is P. O. Box 596, Kailua-Kona. And I thank the Steering Committee and all of the people who have worked for this planning process. I thank the Commissioners for your comments early on right away also. I need to tell you this, all of you, because the comments I make must be made, but they are part of a process that calls for all input. The comments I make will reflect also the gathering of the people here; if you just look at the audience, you will get to see a picture of what kind of participation has happened to date. I have written something that I will kind of paraphrase from; I have given you all a copy: Three C’s & The Kona Community Development Plan – Capitalism, Colonization, Civil Disobedience. The Kona Community Development Plan has failed to seek input from not only all races in Kona but from Kona’s most troubled and encumbered – `Oiwi, native Hawaiians. Kona is the home of the first capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Kona comprises a coastline of chiefly residences that began the national identity of Hawaii in the world. Descendants of the chiefs, farmers, fishermen and the earliest descendants of this land know Hawaii’s long history. Therefore, I declare this plan detrimentally and seriously flawed for its omission of our voice. In affairs such as this community planning, Hawaiians remain voiceless in this land that we know best, we knew first, we love most. Capitalism drives tourism and colonization in Hawaii. Colonization can destroy the integrity of Hawaiian culture. This scenario creates abandonment of the land by her first people. Thankfully, good numbers of Hawaiian people are awakened to the maladies of colonization that act in stages – like grief. They have become alert to the dangers of loss of cultural identity and the futures facing their children. Colonization is to blame when desecration of sacred sites takes place. Colonization is to blame when western planning models applied on the continental U.S. are applied to Pacific islands and to Pacific islanders. Such is the case in the Kona Community Development Plan formulated by planners from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For generations Hawaiian people have resisted colonization, and continue to do so. This testimony is a part of that continued resistance. Take a survey of Hawaiian people, or not just only Hawaiian, people who are native to Kona between Anaehoomalu and Manuka and ask them if they are familiar with this Plan. My guess is that if you went to door to door, you’d find that a minimal number of families answer affirmatively. Why? Because many Kona residents can’t afford a lifestyle that we see in T.V. commercials. There is no peaceful sitting at a breakfast table to enjoy reading one’s paper. EXHIBIT B 17