HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0019.048 2002-2004
JRN-07-2003 03:47 PM BONNIE GOODELL 967 8293 P. 01
Bonnie ~3oodell Plennlna for 8uatalnablllty www.bonNed~odJNt.ooib y r -
P.v. eox s, Votouro H100796A006 (000) 001-7776 bor?n~.pcodx@h.w.rr.rroonr
Date: January 6, 2003 ~ -
To: Members of the County Council
Regarding: Support for Maurice Thomas' Application for Rezoning in Volcano
1 am sorry I Cannot make it to the meeting. I have to work.
This rezoning application is a social justice issue:
• Aceording to the GP drag, Puna currently has 74 acres of wmmercial zoning. That is
just over two accts per 1000 people. The County as a whole has 19 acres per 1000
people. There is a clear correlation between lack of commercial acreage and lack of
opportunity. The districts with the least commercial zoning are also the districts with the
highest number of people unemployed, in poverty, with poverty-related memat illness.
ice addiction, children in foster care, people doing community service btcause they
cannot afford car instuance, teen pregnancy and underweight babies. Commercial zoning
is opportunity zoning. Puna has tkr and away the lowest level of commercial zoning.
Commercial
Actual Acres/1000
District 2000 Commercial LO5/1000
Name Population Acres
L- Puna 31335 74 2
2 -South Hilo 47,386 1,088 23
3 -North Hilo 1,720 10 6
4 - Hemakua 6,108 38 6
5 -North Kohala 6,038 39 6
6 -South Kohala 13,131 426 32
7 -North Kona 28,543 1,015 36
8 -South Kona 8,589 108 13
9 - Ka'u 5,827 61 10
Total/Av. LOS 148,677 2.839 19
• The County of Hawaii General Plan, on page 82, allocates additional zoned acres
needed for healthy land use patterns in the land Zoning Bank, a critical eleme~ of the
General Plan. 901 acres is allocated for new commercial zoning in Puna. This is a
request for one acre. Only 900 more to go for fair treatment. Compare Puna to North
Kona.
• Ten years ago, Congress enacted iSTEA, to help us shift to transit, bike and walkiag
choices, and transit-based land use patterns of compact, walkable, neighborhood retail.
This is especially critical in low-income communities, Hke Puna, where many catmot Q
Comm. No. ` •
File N/o~...Z
Ref. T`o:
Ref, Date JAN 0 8 2003
JAN-07-2003 03:48 PM BONNIE GOODELL 967 8295 P. 02
afford the expenses of keeping a car, especially insurance. Federal transportation and land
use funding programs specifically require that these etrvironmerrtal justice issues be
addnsaed, Volcano's Vision 2020 was produced using the lamatoo-low population
projections that have been found by the federal governmert to violate the civil rights of
the low-income population of Puns and Ka' u, by depriving them of local services to
which they have a legal right. Volcano is now starting the process of preparing a new
plan that adequately provides for the needs of currant and future residents. At 20 acres
per 1000 people Volcano has a currant commercial land deficit of over 30 scree.
• The neighbors who oppose this use have their lots on the market for over SS00,000, ten
times the price of 1S years ago, while the residential lots have appreciated little if at all.
This puce that can only be supported by commercial uses with far more impacts then
Maurice's. He could not now develop a community hardware store if he had to pay that
price. No one in the commercial district could afford to develop small workshop/storcs
for craftspeople sad artists at ~tose prices. No one could open a wmmunity fitness
center at those prices. The whole concept of wmmunity-based economic developmett is
defeated by the shortage of commercial property created by the people who insist they
want to preserve Volcano for commtuvty-based economics, but are themselves making it
impossible by their own actions. What they say and what they do are opposites. What is
really going on here?
I know you all support community-based economic development. T11is is it. Please
support this rezoning. ~
Mahalo nut loa for your attention.