Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0493.071 2000-2002 From Thu, Jun 20, 2002 7:54 AM Page 1 of 2 c_ Alastair Glennie Janice Palma-Glennie P. 0. 4849 Kailua-Kona, F9awai~i 96745 Tel #808-324-0093 To: The 1=ulf Hawaii County Council 12e: Open Space designation for Kohanaiki, O~oma, Keopuka, Kealakekua, I'ohue Bay, Mau~umae, North Kohala June ~q, 2002 am speaking on behalf of myself, Janice Palma-Glennie, and my husband, Alastair Glennie, who is also here tonight. First, we'd like to thank Planning Director Chris Yuen and Mayor Kim for going out on a limb to do what's right for our community and the future of this island. Also, the consistent support of representatives like Curtis Tyler, Nancy Pissichio, and Julie Jacobsen gives us heart. We feel that land use planning--aside from population growth--is the most important, and most ignored, issue facing Hawaii. From land use stems all other plights and benefits to society. Without proper planning, roads jam, schools become inadequate, youth becomes aimless, families are divided, the environment degrades, and good health becomes less attainable. Ciut you, our council members--with the guidance of these people here tonight--can choose to follow through on great planning ideas like the one to designate as "open space" areas like I<ohanaiki, O'oma, Keopuka, and Kealakekua. My husband and I had ourfirstexperience of the I<ohanaiki/O'oma coastline in ~q88. It felt like "Out of Africa"--beautiful, wild, pristine and abundant. Since then, we go there often and see so many other folks from this community who have now become life- long friends. From those early days, we watched hot dogging grommets become loving, responsible adults, many of whom are now taking their own families to"Pine Trees." The days we've spent surfing, picnicking and just hanging out and the nights we've spent camped under the stars at I<ohanaiki make up some of the best, most magical times of our lives. Comas. Nae_ file No. _ _ Ref. °To: W JUN ~ 0 ZOOZ Ref. Date Thu, Jun 20, 2002 7:54 AM From Page 2 of 2 6y designating every last puka of shoreline for resort development, the basic truths of community growth, and environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability are ignored. For financial reasons, you might fear the day when no more coastal space will be left to build upon because you lack a plan for that day. [iut what you need to understand is that the crisis is not that we can't expect new resort construction to expand indefinitely. The real crisis facing you at this moment is that we can't duplicate the tiny bits of natural coastal space left on this island no matter what technology we use, and we can never duplicate the experiences of nature and culture once they are lost. A new paradigm is needed right now for economic balance, and developing the island's remaining open space has never been and never will be the answer to along-term solution to our economic future. A vision for the future of this island must include natural open space: enough recreational, spiritual, and social open space for the people who live here. This vision has been supported in all sorts of community meetings for decades. ay adding a layer of protection for these last undeveloped places, we're not so much putting a stop to inappropriate development as we are setting an ~~th hour goal to put things right again in our use of the a'ina before it's too late. We see the inevitability of population growth. We know that times and situations change; but we believe that if we use sustainable approaches to planning and allow Mother Nature half a chance, that these last few places can be preserved in their most natural condition for all of hlawaii's people. We know that this is possible because, for ~4 years, we've been part of a massive community effort to protect and preserve a stretch of land that some said could never happen. f3ut this community, its children, its business owners, its teachers, parents and kupuna have made it their business to insure that these places remain safe havens and geographical anchors for the community and the generations behind them. Please do the right, most visionary thing: designate Kohanaiki, O'oma, I<ealakekua, I<eopuka, and the others on the General Plan list as "open space"; and let's all move forward together with the business of finally, at long last, writing in stone the protection of these natural playgrounds and spiritual refuges for tomorrow as they are today.