2024-11-21 Moku Loa Hawaii Island Sierra Club Testimony (1)

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One reason GP2040 is so important is because it shows the extent to which public access and cultural, historic, and scenic resource preservation policies and actions contained within GP2040 were removed and not included in GP2045. For instance, the Sustainability Objective on page 108 states, "Native Hawaiian language, values, and practices are integrated into all County processes." This objective has been cleansed from the draft GP now before the Commission. Another document is a report titled"Hawai'i County Scenic Resources Inventory and Mapping Project, Scenic Resource Protection Programs and Strategies"prepared for the Planning Department in August 2016. The Policies and Actions in GP2040 included the programs and strategies recommended by this report. However, GP2045 removed these policies and actions and now GP2045 only contains a reference to the report. Another report not in the Commission's initial board packet is the Trend Scenario and Land Use Allocation Technical Report,published in April 2016. This report contains important information, such as how many dwellings can be built with existing zoning, subdivision approvals, and building permits. Another critical report not included in the Commission's initial board packet is the Technical Methodology for General Plan Land Use (2020-2024). This report was not released until August 2024. It should have been released a year earlier because it contains information that the public has been requesting since last September 2023, such as explanations of how the GP2045 land use maps were developed. In June 2024, HIG submitted a Request for Government Records asking the Planning Department to provide a lists of specific changes between the current GP LUPAG map and the draft GP2045 land use, together with the reasons for each change and those who were consulted in developing the reasons for each changes. For instance, why has the entire Hokuli'a project been moved from Agriculture to Rural when there is an outstanding petition to the state Land Use Commission to amend the state land use Agriculture district to Rural and Conservation? This explanation is especially important given that the change proposed in GP2045 would enable construction of homes on Pu'u Ohau, the entirety of which the Hawai'i Island Burial Council designated as a royal mausoleum. Given the massive protests in the early 2000s against this proposal by kanaka maoli, why is the Planning Director proposing to reopen this wound? Presently, the Request is on appeal with the state Office of Information Practices because the Planning Department has refused to provide the reasons for the specific changes between maps and those who were consulted in making those decisions. Mahalo for this opportunity to testify and provide additional information to assist in this most important task any Planning Commission can undertake, the comprehensive review of the General Plan. Moku Loa (Hawaii Island) Group, Sierra Club We work hard to advance Sierra Club's mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild