HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0898.150 2020-2022 P/COunc.I
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COMM. 898
From: Mary True
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023 6:57 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Please Override the Mayor's Veto of Bill 194
Aloha Councilmembers,
Your decision to pass Bill 194 was sound. Please override the Mayor's veto of Bill 194. Presently,the Planning Director is
approving time extensions for new developments every few months,with no input from the public.So-developer
commitments for affordable housing, roads,sewer lines, etc, may not be fulfilled for years.And changed conditions such
as increased flooding or more traffic do not receive public scrutiny.
Bill 194 would require that all time extensions be voted on by County Council,with public input. It would also end the
practice of approving time extensions long after the original deadline has passed.
Sincerely, Mary True, Pepeekeo
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Ref. To: PI tAP1G1
1 Ref. Date APR 1 9 'LO23
From: Mary True
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 8:56 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: I Support Bill 194
Aloha members of Hawai'i County Council,
Thank you for this opportunity to comment.
I am asking you to vote in favor of overriding Mayor R`oth's Veto in support of Bill 194. The repercussions it seeks to
address remain significant to our island.
The need for this bill was created because many of our residents noted expired rezoning applications being granted as
extensions without due process, especially in the Special Management Areas,where contested case hearings and
mishandled procedures stopped development for cause in the first place. Planning director Kern has unleashed new
rounds of highly controversial developments all along Ali'i Drive, many of which the Police Chief helped to stop due to
significantpublic safetyissues. For example,tsunami evacuation concerns were at the topof this list after several failed
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attempts to mobilize residents and visitors to evacuate the area were experienced..
Therefore,this bill remains a strong need, and I urge your further consideration and support.lt is essential that we
increase transparency for future development around our island. It is empowering when our residents submit testimony
with backyard knowledge, especially when conditions appear not to have been met in good faith. For example,when
the time agreed upon within the original rezoning ordinance application expires.To allow applicants to come back with a
two-step process via a simple resolution,without revisiting contemporary conditions(such as threats from climate
change, special management areas&archeological surveys) is a cheap trick on the public interest.
After three draft revisions, Bill 194 still remains faithful to its intentions for enhanced transparency and opportunities to
address current impact concerns. It also allows for contested case hearings, as well as appropriate reviews, and
rectifications, before extending or granting new rezoning applications.
Thus far,the Mayor's veto has demonstrated an unwise and undemocratic impulse. Our island is at an inflection
point. Should we allow our planning department to extend expired rezoning applications without contemporary review
opportunities?,
If so, residents and lineal descendants of these lands,who have been involved in litigations in the past, will be effectively
silenced. As a result,we will be watching our backyards being bulldozed all the more quickly!
I remain in strong support of Bill 194.
Please continue to exert your leadership capabilities.Thank you!
Mary True
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