HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0493.083 2000-2002 Testl~ny o~ (gel ~Ear~ ~~vla®r, Jurr~~ 19, fl2
n ~S.'~9ialfsins, ~o~~ldt
~i~his testimony is in support of revisions that allot rraore open spasms for ~9~°ii County ire
ger~erat acrd Dona area in parti~lar.
fihe population of the aevhole ista~d is grong and vsitt continue to grove. The areas that sere
once accessible by residents are b~iatg dosed off one by one. This is true of l~oarntain areas as
tl as beasdh€~s. tf do rat at~i nom to set aside lands it ~l be too tate.~ _ i 'r~ony
will focus on two sites only but all aye of 'at i nce. _
K~'~~~~~Kt ~clunty Council/n~
K®hanaiki is oP~e exarr~le of t~~h area that is tt~xt to a large population center. it has bin
used fior carping, surfing, fishing, ~d pis~acking for yrs. ~b®ut Been years ago were was a
great deal of citizen efifort put iPo a ICeaut~ou to Kailas Cotnrr~unity Ilan. 'The members of the
ceot-nmitt~ ire ode arp of peop from all avaltcs life:. Act that ti there s the dream of
raking Kohanaiki a corrtmunttymrun park.
~Ir1Ce there a County aotatally bast tF~ opportunity t®uiPe the tart for back taX~s, But
dectir~ci. evidently, there ,mss se~tit that the County should not at~uire more land if ifi could
not be irrtrrriat~ly quip as a traditional park. tf you read t Ilan yoaa €l see that
the Kona districts are very Backing in partetand when compared to the population. VVe missed a
~onderfut opportunity.
VlPe maintain that a park ~n be rather prirr~tiv~, as y parks al!e_ In , rr~ost users of the
area want it to rerrrain unr~imersti. ~d~uate res rns aced garbage dispose! are de~€nitety
r9eeded. night nova volunteers frorrti the Kohanaiki C3tna are supptyic~g tl rvic~.
-The other very irr~portant n for the area is a resident guardian ov r. 'his is done all over
the mainland (and in sorry I~aaii parks). ~fhe re ' nt d agate at a reasonable hour to
make sure that ursantesf trouble€lsers stay Dart: of the car~incf-piseniirag area, if sotneoP~e
caarses trouble, or if there is an err cy, the guardian ells the appropriate auth~ity. Not
only does the park get a watchdog, but ~e gets ~ ptac~ t®liv~. ®r~ the lir~l~~d rr~~y
guardians are retired le ~r~o spend a few months at a sits. They usually live in a mobile
horn. t-tere a small hour or sleeping e~uarter's night do use such a presens is needed
minty at night.
'taaarrdreris of people use this t~sach area in a single da "snty local farnities_ ~ big plus is that
they can drive their cars vaith their keitsi and cawing needs. No carrying old boac~:s and
barbecues over tong cfi noes. 'fie prat to keep this land available for traditional use, not the
use dictated by a days! - . C3ver the years rrs~y of the pt -used to Camp have
disappeared. to many of oair parks, are a led at sunset, of alt thsngs. Others allot 25
Comm. No,~
File No.
Ref. To:
-•:ef. ~~Ate JUL 0 3 Z~Z
parking spae~s---no bikes albs 6~ailua and Kona eorrgmuniti~s eh aria; the dig
Island needs it. We need it nom and vain need it more so in the future.
Vide understand that sae also need revenue to run the County, but do ease ant that avenue at the
expee~se of our future? That mould ! Gke the story about the hungry Young rrsan mho sells his
birthright for a bowl of soup. l~i~er~rds he realized what he had done, but it °,s too late.
We understand that Maui County mill have a Charter arnendnt on the Alovember ballot that
ill ask the people if they ill saapport a 1®/~ (one per cent) raise in property tastes to obtain and
support parks and open spaces. Tim organgzation ~rrasf dot' f'u6dac Lands has eonducted a poll
of people on l~laui and they supporter the idea. The Trust armed as a facilitator ?with the mayor
and council v~ho also su rt a idea. What a great idea for us to ider in 8~aaii County!
K~~l~'~K~
besides the obvious ocean beaeh sites, other areas also deserve the ®pen Space designation;
some because of historical or culr~l i nce. smoother very importargt reason for setting
aside open space is to preser~ae the pristirse seas and reefs that border the land. Keopuka is
one of these areas.
Those ~vho are familiar vaith Kona (and mush of the dig Island) kno~as that the earth is riddled asvith
lava fiubes large and small. V'~dheri there is develop t or even esive agrilture, top soil,
fertilizers, herbieides and general rur~-off frorr~ streets ill p ir3to srrll and large ptskas and
find their may to the ocearti.
As ~sse found out with the I~okuli'a development, a!I it took ~~as t~ovvo hard rains to wash topsoil into
the sea. Vide ill be risking ur€:igue Kealakekua gay if developrr~nt is allsaed above and aside
the day. The ofr of ~e deveksper, as reported in l?llesf ~a~odag~ {3urre 1 fio t aside
sorry Keopuka land near the ocean is good, but unfortunately ill not keep page and erosion
from entering the ocean from use nearby higher elevations. The land offerc;d land, 1C~puka
„Mats", is mostly a pahoehoe lava €s~ that flattens out for a short disfiance be!ore the sea cli#fs.
64Aaui's once beaufiiful sore! reefs aid ce~ast are suerirrg frorrr the developrncer~t of horns and
golf courses n~:ar the shore and l~Sa~ai scsil is generally not r~arly so porous as ours.
This may be our last chance to choose what kind of future ~lawaii County mill have. We can
eopy (3ahu and ~81aui and co to nth them f®r the most hotels, golf courses ao~d multimillion
dollar horns or can be the iand that still has the beautiful reefs, ~sater and open spaces
that nom attract visitors and eke otr~° lives so en~oyal~le.
The rraore development ewe have, the more infrastructure a neeai, the more mater ~e need, the
more revenue ~e need, and on and on. There is no doubt that our population mil! continue to
gro~~ no matter mat ~e do. We have the opportur€ity nose to control homes that growth affects the
quality o$ life for us, our ehildren and fore resrdents in the years to come.