HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0186.040 2020-2022 •
From: Rosa Motta
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 11:47 AM 6
To: Council Testimony
Subject: RES 80-21, 81-21, and 82-21
Aloha to whom it may concern,
I am writing today in support of resolutions 80-21, 81-21, and 82-21 to be addressed by the Hawai`i Comity C tujcil
Committee of Finance on April 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM; Regarding the County's acquisition of three TM'k parcels (3-
7-06-014:013, 3-7-07-004:063, and 3-7-07-008:120) on Ali`i Drive for the purposes of:
Sacred burial, artifact, and site protection
Natural Resource Preservation and Protection
Promotion of Hawaiian culture, values, beliefs, and customary practice
Fishing, gathering, and recreation purposes
Maintenance of open space that serves not only as a buffer between development, but is the `aina itself; the original
identity of the place
It is critical that we protect this land from development, now more than ever! We are in a housing crisis; the people of
Hawai`i are being pushed and priced out of our home. With home prices higher than they have ever been, it is
unattainable for many families from Hawai`i to own a home in Hawai`i; 30,000 people moved to Hawai`i last year
alone. I am hearing from the realtors in our community that mainlanders are buying homes sight unseen; even rental
prices are rising while availability is slim to none. Being that the majority of our local community cannot afford to
compete with mainland buyers and/or developers, I hope that you all remember the difference between being in a lead
position and executing leadership; please be responsible in standing up for our people and the land we hold near and
dear to us, the land that is the identity of our people.
UA MAU KE 'EA 0 KA `AINA I KA PONO!
I live in the ahupua'a of La'aloa,just mauka of Ali`i Drive, and I truly value the open space behind my residence. As
a canoe person, I observe and study the skyand stars; the open space in La`aloa and Pahoehoe facilitate that practice. 1
surf at Kahalu'u, and watch tourists trample the heiau there all the time. We need to protect these sites! Although it is
said development provides jobs, these jobs are often short term, and therefore unsustainable, leaving a constant thirst
for more development to crutch temporary construction jobs. It is bad enough that we only have a 10% affordable
housing requirement for developers, and most buy credits with the county to get out of it; the developers make way
more profit through the option/ability to buy credits in place of affordable housing development than they actually
buy credits for. This is honestly the main component of the housing problem Hawai`i is facing. Lack of affordable
housing allows real estate development sales prices to be driven up, with no lower prices to moderate them; therefore
property taxes rise and previously built homes and real estate values are driven up; hence pricing us out of paradise.
COVID-19 exemplified the need to diverify our economy, and showed that the status-quo reliant on visitors was/is
not sustainable and leaves our community members jobless in the event of an emergency. If we invest in
jobs/responsibilty to take care of a place, that in an enduring responsibility and provides potential to improve the
r Comm.No g4•40
Ref. P
Ref.Dater rR Z 0 2021
wellbeing, local food production, and preservation of reaources for our local community. HRS 6E is in place to
protect our places, so that we may give them the honor deserved. Hawaii has the strongest burial and cultural
protectiom laws of any state in the U.S.. we can learn so much from past leadership, it is that way for a reason.
Again I urge you to adopt resolutions 80-21, 81-21, and 82-21. Mahalo for your time and dedication to upholding the
integrity of this land and preserving places for Hawaiians to be Hawaiian.
"He ali`i ka `aina, he kaua ke kanaka"
R. Puale`Taloha Motta
La'aloa, Kailua-Kona, Moku o Keawe
April 19, 2021
2