HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0186.048 2020-2022 From: Savannah Scherrer
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 11:49 AM COUNTY CLERK
To: Council Testimony COUNTY OF HAWAII
RECEIVED
Subject: Resolution 80-21, 81-21, 82-21 Time 11:.q dal. By de
Date . APR 1 9 2021 ,
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 County Council Committee of
Finance on April 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM; Regarding the County's acquisition of three TMK 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 Hawaii;
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. I 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 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. Hawai'i
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"
Savannah Scherrer
La'aloa, Kailua-Kona, Moku o Keawe
April 19, 2021
Comm. No. ��
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I Ref. To: P 1�L
1 Ref. Date APR 2 0 2021