HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0208.014 2004-2006 Page 1 of 2
Murashige, Laura
From: Marni Herkes [marnih@turquoise.net]
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 4:37 PM
To: Isbell, Virginia; akpilago@co.hawaii.hi.us; Fred Holschuh'; Donald Ikeda; Harry Kim; 'Robert
Jacobson'; Higa, Stacy
Cc: 'Marni Herkes'
Subject: HC Bills 78 and 79
April 19, 2005
TO THE HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ~ ,
The Honorable Virginia Isbell, Chair ~
% _
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FROM Marni Herkes
RE: Bills 78 and 79
.5
ALOHA: '
I would like to encourage you to support Bills 78 and 79. This is the time for the County to-begin tc~
acquire lands that will be forever protected. We are asking for the 2% again, and we hope we hav~the
money to do it.
This conservation Fund could set aside available monies for unexpected opportunities. It provides
leverage for public funding. It provides areas for supervised public recreation. It saves the county money
in the short term by preventing development in hazard areas and it boosts revenue in the long term via a
diversified economy and increased land values.
"the county and the state must work together to buy and protect land for open space, for water shed, for
recreation and even just for better planning. We have the Trust for Public Lands and The Nature
Conservancy who have shown us the way. Maui has done a great job of putting together an advocacy
group working with the county to identify areas to be protected.
I would suggest that the top areas to protect are the watershed areas, beaches and coastal areas, areas that
prevent erosion, flooding and landslides, native forest areas and native Hawaiian historical and cultural
areas but there are lots of other ideas.
Urgency exists to do this now. The increasing pressure to put property rights above zoning and land use
policies is evident, these issues are being decided in the courts across the country and the national will is
swinging in favor of the property owner rights. Oregon's Hood River is under attack after voters
approved Measure 37 which is wrecking the "best-in-the-nation" record of reining in sprawl. This
reflects people's conflicts where voters favor protection of farm land and open space and actually vote
down restrictions on property rights. Smart Growth laws will only stand up until they get to the courts.
Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi all have passed property right laws.
Let's get out ahead of the issue of property rights and set in place a measure that will put these important
and valuable ]ands in public hands. Let's put our money where our desires are. This may be seen as a
reverse Mahele, and maybe it is, but I encourage you to put the mechanisms in place to protect our lands
that are important to us. This is our land and we can protect it without taking away rights from anyone.
We can put in place some timeless land use policies and begin to respect the land again.
Comm. No._ _
Ref. T rwerd
Ref. Uote
4/18/2005