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From: Antu Harvey
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2023 3:50 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: CoH Bill 194 Testimony- Support
Aloha Hawaii County Council Members, '
Thank you for this opportunity.
am in support of Bill 194.
Bill 194 aims to ensure that conditions of rezoning are met in the agreed time frame and if they
are not, that the County Council (not the Planning Director) has the authority to grant an initial
time extension for the completion of these conditions. It would also invite and allow public input
to ensure responsible and culturally appropriate development on our island moving forward that
is regenerative and not extractive.
We can now witness the impacts of past zoning and development approvals. Allowing time
extensions based on the rules and agreements in place 5, 10, 20 years ago when the initial
approvals were made is NOT in the interest of our 'Aina or our residents. Extensions need to
take into consideration the cumulative changes and better land use planning knowledge, and be
refused if they no longer will serve the residents into the long term future.
Kona residents in particular have been negatively impacted by the 1950s style sprawling vehicle
oriented development, rising housing costs, and a lack of available long-term rentals. The
Planning Department must consider the impact on precious cultural sites, flood zones,
infrastructure, safety, the environment, and the community livability. Climate catastrophe
preparedness must be a priority in new permitting standards and the decision whether to grant
extensions, or require the applicant to start over.
In Kona, we have witnessed subdivision applications that were stopped in 2017, now given time
extensions by Zendo Kern opening the floodgates in 2022. Now scraping and developing those
lands without addressing the material issues that stopped them in the first place by Aunty
Simmy McMichael is not acceptable. The law has been broken and the Planning Director has
been using too much authority leeway as local residents face displacement and homelessness.
Investors have been building and investors have been buying housing stock without intending
continuous long term occupancy. This has resulted in our landscape being turned into a real
estate investment farm, NOT homes for our ohana. Investors want to rezone all our Kahakai,
Kula and 'Apa'a AG lands. Often they abuse the term affordable housing and have been allowed
to exploit time extensions to their advantage and profit. We have witnessed for generations the
game of waiting and selling off our land to investors. Every year, this is making Kona far poorer
NOT prosperous and livable for our ohana.
We must slow down paving over paradise and move toward better stewardship. Why is our
Planning Department rapidly replicating suburban sprawl of the mainland? Why isn't the Planning
Department ensuring that the remaining development in the North Kona core follow the KCDP
and require its TODs (denser mixed urban villages with services) AND reserve the infrastructure
areas needed for alternate transportation modes (park & ride lots, greenways for walking and
bicycling, etc.), urban parks, and reserve open space. The current land-rush is going to result in
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requiring the dreaded use of eminent domain to fix this mess. And in the meantime, the County
will have destroyed irretrievably, the Kona ag lands, the precious and sacred cultural & heritage
landscapes, and make the quality of life of Kona families unbearable and unlivable.
The residents of Hawaii Island need a voice in decisions that affect their community and its
future and hold landowners accountable for the land they purchased.
I am asking all of you to pass this bill today unanimously.
Thank you for your time.
Aloha
Anne `Ante` Harvey
96725
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