HomeMy WebLinkAboutSmith, Mary Christa
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Mary Christa Smith <marychristasmith@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, October 19, 2026 3:31 PM
To:Council Testimony; Inaba, Holeka; Galimba, Michelle M.; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt;
Kagiwada, Jennifer; Kimball, Heather; Hustace, James
Cc:Tim Henney
Subject:Defer Bills 186 and 187
Aloha and thank you for your consideration of my testimony.
I am a 3 year resident of Waikoloa Village, South Kohala and Hawai ʻ i Island.
I am asking you to deny the developer of Waikōloa Greens the right to rezone the land from it ʻ s current
zoning designation. Defer Bills 186 and 187.
Thank you to those of you who did not advance these bills in the last meeting. I appreciate you listening
the the concerns of the community.
The recent article in Civil Beat calls this the Wild Wild West for Groundwater Management in Waikōloa.
It's The Wild, Wild West For Groundwater
Management In Waikōloa
civilbeat.org
I am kama ʻ aina to Utah, having lived there 53 years. I know the Wild West. I have watched in dismay as
Utah developers and politicians have allocated “paper water” to fuel growth. I have watched developers
and politicians try to build their way out of a housing crisis. I have watched them “find water” for their
developments, dangle the carrot of affordable housing, promise community gardens. These policies
and the growth that has ensued is a disaster.
Our beloved Colorado River is at 25% capacity - she has been over allocated for decades and the
chickens have come home to roost. 44 million people depend upon her for their drinking water. You
cannot drink the paper that these “rights” were written on.
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Maybe you have feel dismay about our beloved Great Salt Lake. She is expected to completely dry up
this year, irreparably disrupting our hydrology cycle. These are the outcomes of policies and land use
choices that allow for projects like Waikōloa Greens whose proposal is projected to draw down the
Waimea aquifer by 1.29 million gallons a day - over 90% of the daily recharge capacity. This is
dangerous, short sighted and unsustainable.
Please learn from those who have faced similar challenges and made terrible decisions. Do not approve
this project. Defer Bills 186 and 187. Take the time to get good information and make an informed
decision that your grandchildren will be proud of.
Gratefully,
Mary Christa
Mary Christa Smith
She/They
marychristasmith@gmail.com
435-640-9189
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