2017-10-30 Hearing Transcript - Amendments to PC Rule 9 (Joint Meeting)

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Office of State Planning, and that was very, very helpful. And as I was thinking about that, I went back to the objectives and policies within the law related to Hawai`i's Coastal Zone Management Law, and there are two comments that I have. One related to managing development. The program is supposed to improve the development review process, communication, and public participation in the management of coastal zone resources and hazards. Changing the threshold for an SMA Major Permit actually reduces public participation, and I think we've heard that before in some of the other testimony. The other point here is related to economic uses. The program is to concentrate coastal zone dependent development in appropriate areas. Reliance on a threshold without any public scrutiny of the issue of coastal dependence, that may get lost in the shuffle and that's an issue that I'm concerned about. Then I thought further about the article that was in yesterday's Hawaii Tribune Herald. It reminded me of the broader issues at stake related to the environment. In most parts of this island, we are lacking infrastructure, especially sewage and wastewater and even access to water other than catchment systems. There are also issues of fragile cliffs, which we see particularly along the Hamakua coast, contamination leftover from sugar plantation practices, and the juxtaposition of these contaminated properties to endangered species and protected habitats, or critical habitats. In consideration of the potential harm to our coastal zones, I urge the Commission to lean towards greater environmental protection; that is, requiring SMA Major Permits providing greater environmental scrutiny and enabling public input. SMA Minor Permits currently provide for neither. I'd like to point out that the County can be more restrictive toward development than required by State law. The Hawaii Supreme Court held that with a few exceptions local governments are free to become more protective of the coastal lands than the Coastal Zone Management Act provides. In light of these environmental issues and the objectives of the Coastal Zone Management Law, the Hakalau Point Preservation Association opposes increasing the threshold for SMA Major Permits from 125,000 to 500,000. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you, Ms. Forbes. Any questions from the Windward Commissioners? Are there questions from the Leeward? Thank you. Scott Wallace is next. Do you affirm to tell the truth on this matter before the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions? WALLACE: Yes, I do. HENKEL: Thank you. Sit down, state your name and where you are from. WALLACE: [Inaudible.] HENKEL: Excuse me, check and see if you mic's on. WALLACE: I'll repeat that. My name is Scott Wallace. I'm a resident of Hakalau, registered voter in Hakalau, and I speak today in opposition to amendments to Rule 9. I have three reasons that I think you should look at why this should be opposed and not adopted. The first is a legal argument and that is that the rule change was not properly or legally initiated. The rules are really clear in HRS 205A-22 that rule changes must be initiated by a person and not the department. And in this case this rule change was initiated by the Planning Director, Mr. Yee. This argument was made in a prior testimony and responded to in Mr. Yee's response, and I'll EXHIBIT A 12