HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0948.001 2022-2024August 5, 2024
Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Development,
c/o Hawai' i County Council M
25 Aupuni St
Hilo HI 96720
Re: Opposition to Communication 948-24 a
Aloha Madam Chair and members of the committee,
I am speaking in opposition to Communication 948-24 and the creation of a permitted interaction
group (PIG).
This is not the time for this committee or the county council to be launching another massive
undertaking, which a revision of Chapter 1 I will be.
Instead, the committee and the county council should be totally focused on the General Plan
Comprehensive Review Process and the gut -and -replace amendment of the current General Plan
that was released on July 29'
We can all agree that our county, as well as all communities across our nation are facing an
affordable housing crisis created by speculative investment in housing by private equity firms
and other large investors.
We all can agree that homelessness in the state of Hawai'i is the largest number per capita of all
50 states.
We all know that a massive fraud $11 million occurred within the Office of Housing and
Community Development because of sloppy record -keeping and an information system lacking
in sufficient internal controls.
We all know that the system for tracking housing credits has been irreparably corrupted. We all
are assuming the OHDC has already taken and implemented information system corrections and
adequate internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that a baseline has been established.
However, the minutes of the OHCD Agency meetings since 2019 do not contain any mention or
consideration of Resolution 421-20 referred to in Corn 948-24. There is no reference to
engaging Keyser Marston Associates to analyze Chapter 11. Therefore, it appears the PIG being
proposed by Com 948-24 is premature and will not have the basic information that would be
required for the PIG to be efficient and effective.
More importantly, this committee and the county council are in the middle of a General Plan
Comprehensive Review Process. While the July 2024 draft includes a large part of the
September 2023 draft, there a large number of changes. Once again, the Planning Director has
chosen to not identify these changes from the last draft. This is the equivalent of having been on
an Easter Egg hunt in which the Planning Director hide all the eggs in September 2023 and has
now proceeded to hide even more eggs before the first hunt was over.
I do not know the extent to which members of this committee have evaluated the gut -and -replace
amendment released in September 2023 or the one released in July 2024. What I do know is that
any comprehensive review and evaluation of the July 2024 plan as compared to the current
General Plan is going to require a huge effort by this committee, the count y council, and their
staffs.
On a final note, I would like to point out this committee and the council have the on -going
massive package of Bills 121, 122, 123.
The formation of a PIG and revision of Chapter I 1 should not be undertaken by the county
council until it has the prerequisite studies and analysis needed to begin this legislative effort.
Please give do not accept Communication 948-24.
Mahalo,
Chuck Flaherty