HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0372.184 2024-2026From: Michelle Melendez
Sent: Tuesday, October 7, 2025 8:05 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony re: Constitutional problems in GP 2045 — please remove the "Natural"
land designation
Aloha Chair and Councilmembers,
Mahalo for the hard work on the General Plan 2045. 1 support good planning. At the same time, several
parts of the Plan create serious constitutional risks for property owners and small farmers. Below are
simple, specific concerns with page references and which parts of the U.S. Constitution are implicated. I
close with a narrow request.
1) Urban Growth Area / Urban Service Area can create unequal, arbitrary treatment
The Plan's Glossary defines Urban Growth Areas (UGA) and the Urban Service Area (the limit of
government -supplied facilities and services). If these lines are used to reduce or delay basic public
services or approvals just because a parcel is outside the line, that invites unequal
treatment and arbitrary decision -making (14th Amendment— Equal Protection & Due Process).
Glossary definitions: "Urban Growth Area" and "Urban Service Area." County of Hawaii Plannin
_D_epartment
2) Infrastructure is prioritized inside UGA— risk of "regulatory takings" if land is left
without viable use
The Policy Rationale directs water/wastewater planning and investment toward designated Urban
Growth Areas (e.g., "DWS shall ... serve designated Urban Growth Areas"). When service prioritization is
combined with down -designations or restrictions that leave land with no economically viable use,
courts treat that as a taking that requires compensation (5th Amendment —Takings Clause;
Lucas/Penn Central standards). See Policy Rationale around p. 57 and wastewater coordination at p.
60. IRP CDN+1
3) "Natural" land designation will hurt farmers — please remove it from the Plan
GP 2045 sets countywide land -use designations in Section 4.1 Land Use and Table 19: "General Plan
Land Use Designations and Maps" (p. 84), followed by "Agriculture and Natural Land Use" (p. 85).
Re -labeling productive Agricultural parcels as "Natural" will predictably:
• make ordinary farm improvements harder, Comm.
• lower priority for services, and Ref. To:
M &
• reduce permitted, viable use. Ref. Date
That combination can amount to a regulatory taking without compensation (5th Amendment) and also
raises procedural fairness concerns (14th Amendment) if owners have no clear, objective process to
contest a re -labeling. Please remove the "Natural" designation from Table 19 and related maps so
productive farms are not boxed out by a paper change. (Refs to p. 84-85 appear in commission and
testimony records.) records hawaiicounty 2ov+2records.hawaiicounty go +
4) Public -access or similar "give -ups" tied to permits must meet strict constitutional
tests
The Policy Rationale discusses expanding public pedestrian access and trails (pp. 41-42). If
any easement, access, fee, or construction is required as a condition of a private permit, the
Constitution requires an "essential nexus" and "rough proportionality" to the project's impacts —
otherwise it's an unconstitutional taking (5th Amendment; Nollan, Dolan, Koontz). Please add a
sentence requiring written nexus/proportionality findings for any such conditions. IRP CDN
5) The Plan's vagueness invites misinterpretation and arbitrary enforcement
The Glossary says "Actions ... are not legally binding" and will be "refined" later. Without clear metrics
and decision rules up front, staff can apply new lines and labels inconsistently— a 14th Amendment
Due Process problem. Please convert key "Actions" into objective standards (metrics, thresholds) or
defer them to later ordinances with required written findings. County of Hawai'i Planning Department
Requested fixes
1. Remove the "Natural" land designation from Table 19 (p. 84) and any related maps/text, so
productive farms are not re -labeled out of ordinary use. If the Council prefers to keep a
conservation concept, limit it to State Conservation areas already defined in state law, not to
active farms. records. hawaiicountv_.gov+1
2. Add guardrails so UGA/Urban Service Area lines cannot be used to deny basic services or
approvals to otherwise lawful uses; require objective criteria and appeal rights (14th
Amendment). County of Hawai'i Planning Department
3. Insert a takings savings clause stating that no policy or map will deprive a parcel of all
economically beneficial use without just compensation (5th Amendment). IRP CDN
4. For any permit -tied access/easement/fee, require written nexus and rough
proportionality findings consistent with Nollan, Dolan, and Koontz (5th Amendment). IRP CDN
5. Reduce vagueness by converting key "Actions" into clear standards or explicitly deferring them
to future ordinances with published metrics and findings (14th Amendment). County of Hawai'i
Planning Department
Mahalo for considering these narrow, good -government edits. With these changes —
especially removing the "Natural" designation —the Plan can guide growth while staying squarely
within constitutional guardrails and protectingthe island's farmers and working families.
Respectfully,
Michelle Melendez-Freedom Activist
Fitness and Wellness Expert Since 1996
Author Of The Best Selling and 4x Award Winning Book,