HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0493.103 2000-2002
duly 1 2002
{~awaii County Council
Planning Committee
Re: General Plan arnend~tents ~ECrr~~r~ ,
~mew..a. By----~~.-,.s.~,~,~..
ISase r _ _
®ear rrtervtbers of the ~{awaii County Counci{, 4;aunty Coun~i~~(%- ycyc
_ . ~
IIAy name is ferry Rothstein. I'rn a resident of t~awaiiisland.
-fhe contents of this ten year General Plan review is unlike any that
has become before a @~awaii County Council because it is long terra
public interest oriented, rather than short term developer interest
oriented. It is a General Plan that rather than being a r'neans f®r
developers to short cut the review process, has in its revised maps and
language, changes that are genuinely meant to protect ~fawaiiisland's
coastal resources, local values, and lifestyle, and enabling the public to
provide input with unprecedented results. it's a public interest protection
plan, rather than a developers givea~eay plan.
Accordingly, I ask that you adopt intact all those amendments to the
Genera! Plan as put forth by the Kim administration that:
1. Integrate "sl'ttart growth" prlrtclples into the planning process by
providing for re i nal corrtrnun' based tannin and rowth
mane erne t inciud'n ado tion of a ions! lens b ardinance.
2. sec®gt€l~es and protects l~sp~rtarst agrlcultura! areas of
~lawaiiisland in order to expand our agricultural industrgr. Sueh areas
as the Kona Coffee felt are identified and recognised as important ag
lands. (®elete favorable mention of G~ re Puna papaya)
3. Pr®tects fiawasiar~ cultural res®urces by assuring native I-{awaiian
rights to conduct cultural and religious practices on traditional lands
in accordance with the PASFI case.
I especially urge you to adopt every ®ne ®f the General Plan's I.UP~G .
map arendents that desl~nate coasts! areas as "e~pen" or
"c®nset°vatlon," ®r remove "resort" in Sueh predetermined places in
Ka'u, IV.Kohala, P~onaunau, Kealakekua say, Pu'uhonua C a-lonaunau
National Park, Kaloko-I-Oonokihau h6ational Park, Keopuka, Kohanaiki,
®'oma, Pohue gay, l~lauurrtai, and elsewhere. °~his is an
unprecedented opportunity to protect and preserve these undeveloped
wild coastal areas in perpetuity.
I urge you to adopt these amendments without further changes. If you
do, it will be a historic event whose time has come. UVe will then have an
enlightened mayor and planning director, supported by a County Council
who responds to the will of the people as demonstrated by the
overwhelming public support of such amendments, who together create a
planning document that will truly serve the island, its residents, and
future generations in a way no other administration or Council has ever
done. _
IQs
file 1mTo.,, ~ ~ ~
Ref. I)~te ~l ~ 1 g
Past GP's have been developer's documents enabling them circumvent
rigid planning reviews.
The current Hawaii Island ,Journal has an interview with Marry Kiwi in
which he says "many (People on the island) had little confidence in the
county. Whey felt the county was there for the land developers, not the
people.... 1Vo question the government contributed to that. I wanted to
change that." And he has, or at least is trying to as indicated in his
adrv~inistration's draft General Plan amendrr~ents.
This GP can be a people's doeument that recognizes the long terra
benefit to everyone including developers by protecting and preserving
coastal lands, cultural resources, and agricultural areas and by adopting
regional community based planning and- growth management proeesses
resulting in regional plans adopted by ordinance.
There is a profound new awareness in the public that will not
accept the old way of doing things where public interest takes a back seat
to monied private interests.
The issues I've alluded to in this draft General Plan are major issues
which will no longer be ignored by the electorate. s4g lands, cultural
resources, smart planning and protecting coastal resources will be issues
in every Council election. 1Vly bet is that those council persons who are
embedded in the Yamashiro era of land use machinations rather than the
Kim era of benign growth, wiU result in a changeover of the council
majority from developer interest to public interest. it is time for a change.
Y~s for a better ay,
' ~
ry
Ro~ ~
~lawaiiisland 96740
3~9-156
ierryC~turquoise.net
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