1971 GENERAL PLAN -Original - ORD 1971-439

Home

PLANNING DEPARTMENT 25 AUPUNI STREET HILO. HAWAII 06720 COUNTY OF HAWAII September 20, 1971 Honorable Shunichi Kimura Mayor, County of Hawaii 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii SHUNICHI KIMURA Mayor RAYMOND H. SUEFUJI Director After two years of careful review and deliberation, culminating with the Planning Commission's unanimous approval on September 16, 1971, I am pleased to transmit herewith a copy of the proposed General Plan amendment document, together with its amendments and maps, for your review and favorable consideration. This Plan reflects a departure from traditional planning efforts. In the past, plans have been done for various regions of the island with little island -wide integrative efforts. They were also land use or physically oriented with no firm policy guidelines: This Plan, however, sets forth the policy for the comprehensive development of the entire island. It also reflects an awareness of the social, physical, and economic environments and their relationship to one another. In this regard, the revised Plan consists of twelve (12) major elements which are further broken down into twenty-three (23) sub -elements. These elements range from economic activities to historic sites to land use. For each element, goals, policies, standards, and courses of action have been set forth. The goals are general expressions of the desired long-range direction and situation for the island. Policies state the method or strategy which should be undertaken in order to attain the goals. The quality and quantity by which we can measure or evaluate conditions are the standards of the elements. When more precise or detailed discussions of alternative solutions for community concerns and problems were required, course of actions were set forth. It was felt that without having an understanding of what the needs of the people are and how people live, planning would be neither meaningful nor valuable. By planning for and with people, the decisions made by government can be'more relevant and responsive to the real and not merely the perceived needs of the people of the island. Thus, the Plan is people -oriented. It should finally be noted that the general plan revision program could not have been possible without the untiring and cooperative efforts of so many people. While the list is endless, special recognition should be given to all of my staff, the Planning Commission, the various community groups and governmental agencies, and the department's special consultants. PIYICOND H. SUEFUJI DIRECTOR SF:y OFFICE O F T H E M A Y O R — c o u n t y o I It a w a i I, It i I o, It a w a I i 9 6 7 2 0 September 21, 1971 Honorable Herbert Matayoshi Chairman, County Council County of Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii S H U N I C H I K I M U R A M A Y O R I am pleased to submit for your review and favorable consideration a copy of the proposed General Plan amendment document, together with its amendments and maps. Much effort went into the development of this document, and every attempt was made to involve the public. The product, then, is not so much a reflection of one department's efforts, but the collective efforts of the people and various governmental agencies. It was only through such cooperative efforts that we could have witnessed the birth of a healthy and viable policy docu- ment for the overall development of this County. This Plan reflects a bold and innovative step in that it is a policy document. Past plans have had an excessive dependency on maps to gu,de the development of an area. This Plan, however, basically uses a set of policies to guide the overall long-range development of the island. Such approach, it was felt, could better account for the changing needs of the people. The preparation of this Plan represents only a fraction of the tasks that need to be done in order that the Plan become a working and living document. It must also be formally adopted by the Council, and equally important, it must be implemented. To those ends, I not only request your favorable consideration but encourage the public's continued participation and efforts in implementing the Plan. I KIMURA MAYOR