2009-08-28 TDIRECTORLUPAG - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

WATANABE: Staff? Okay, thank you. Thanks, Maija. LetÓs see, there is no applicant in this case, so why donÓt we move onto the public testimony. I have nine individuals who have requested to provide public testimony. IÓll call them up in the order that they signed up. We do have four chairs up there, four seats up there, so IÓll call you up four at a time. I have Geri Diane Aoki, Richard Nelson and Debbie Hecht. May I swear you in? Ms. Hecht, you were already sworn in, so go ahead. Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. WATANABE: Thank you. And I believe you are Geri Bell? BELL: I am. WATANABE: Yes? So Ms. Bell, would you state your name and address for the record, and then you may begin your testimony. Because we do have nine people, IÓm going to request that the testifiers be concise, not be overly redundant. If you have handed in like, you know, a letter of testimony thatÓs five or six pages long, please donÓt read the whole thing to us. We read. Instead, contain your testimony to three minutes and just highlight your thoughts, okay? WeÓd appreciate your cooperation in this. With that, Geri? BELL: I will. IÓm Geri Bell. IÓm at 73-4786 Kanalani Street, Kailua-Kona. And Mr. Chair and Members of the Commission, I brought my water up with me because I have cold and I might need it during my testimony, and because my voice ma But anyway, thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on am Geri Bell, the Superintendent at Kaloko-Honokhau National Historical Park. And the ParkÓs southern boundary adjoins the lands included in the proposed amendment to Map 11, including 15 and a half acres of State-owned lands in the Kealakehe ahupuaÒa. And Kaloko- Honokhau is one of 391 areas in the National Park System established by Congress for its nationally significant cultural and natural resources. So IÓm going to skip down because you do have my testimony. The through the efforts of this community, to preserve, interpret, and perpetuate traditional Hawaiian activities and culture. The community was concerned that this place of great significance to Hawaiians would be lost to urban development. And the citizens prevailed in 1978, but even today the imminent threat to the ParkÓs resources from urban development continues. Any large- scale development project on lands adjacent to the National Park cultural landscape, traditional and customary practices by native Hawaiians in the Park, and its resources. Again, IÓd like to reiterate that the National Park Service is seriously concerned that urban development projects on lands adjacent to the Park, which is also a National Historic Landmark, especially cumulative effects of these projects, will result in long-term degradation of the Park, threaten the integrity of the Honokhau Settlement National Historic Landmark, and diminish the rapidly disappearing Hawaiian cultural landscape. As you know, large-scale urban development adjacent to any National Park will fundamentally alter the water, air, sounds, sights, EXHIBIT E 3