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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0927.003 2004-2006 RECtlVe7;. a7me_ /O.:u9 B _-~J / Y Dote----,- C OLM V Coundl VAN PERNIS - VANCIL Attorneys at Law, A Law Corporation MARK Van PERNIS - GARY W. V ANCIL 75-167F Hualalai Road, Suite B, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740-1714 Phone (808) 329-3551 Fax (808) 329-6185 E-Mail vsv@hawaii.rr.com June 8, 2006 Chairman Gary Safarik Vice-Chairman Bob Jacobson 25 Aupuni Street 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 James Y. Arakaki Stacy Higa 25 Aupuni Street 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Pete Hoffman Fred Holschuh 25 Aupuni Street 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Virginia Isbell K. Angel Pilago 75-5706 Hanama Place # 109 75-5706 Hanama Place # 109 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740-8980 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740-8980 Donald Ikeda 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Resolution 381-06: Resolution to Postpone Council Action on Rezoning Applications in the Districts of North and South Kona until the North and South Kona Community Development Plan is Adopted by Ordinance. Dear Councilpersons, Enclosed are copies of published West Hawaii viewpoint articles I authored, which are submitted to you as my written testimony in support of Councilman Pilago's proposed resolution concerning limitation of rezoning prior to community development plans being finalized. Please read and consider them. What the resolution proposes is conventional, needed, beneficial and not threatening. The moratorium concept has been widespread and in use throughout the country. It generally is economically productive for the private sector and serves the public sector well. Rezoning of governmental lands, and rezoning for affordable housing (not connected to other market rate development), could be exempted. Comm. Nn2.1.3 Ref. To: " Councipersons Ur June 8, 2006 Page Two Its long past time for such action in support of the public, consistent with other similarly infrastructure starved communities, and an abandonment of short signed timidly advocated by the subjective few. The lack of infrastructure rises is upon us all. Sincerely, KV S MVP/nc c. Karen Eoff If all of the County of Hawaii's income and budget were allocated exclusively to West Hawaii, (the Districts of North Kona, South Kona, North Kohala, South Kohala and Ka'u), and to equally fast growing and infrastructure starved Puna, for the next twenty years - not a cent for Hilo for the next twenty years - the infrastructure problems of West Hawaii and Puna would still not be solved. It would not be enough money. In other words, its not spending money on the Hilo side that's causing infrastructure problems for West Hawaii. It's decades of poor planning, inadequate control, lack of foresight, inadequate developer contributions, and neglect of infrastructure that has created the present mess. The solution now is not an angry call for another layer of government in the form of a West Hawaii county or municipality. This is particularly so when that can't be done, except by a State constitutional amendment, which requires the support of most Oahu legislators and most of the State's voters. They aren't interested in West Hawaii and have problems of their own. Even the support of our own Island's East Hawaii legislators and voters cannot be relied upon. We need a competent (i.e. adequately paid) government willing to make hard decisions and withstand the pressure of the few in favor of promoting the best interests of the many. One big thing that could and should be done on the County level now would be to establish a West Hawaii Planning Commission, separate from the present countywide Planning Commission, many of whose members just don't get it. Another big thing would be to produce good West Hawaii candidates for the countywide Mayor's office, and then to get out the vote for them. There arc too many complainers and not enough voters. West Hawaii and Puna have enough full time residents eligible to register and vote to control who is elected Mayor. But not enough of them register and vote, neither to protest nor to support. It is also necessary for West Hawaii residents to apply for and get appointed to County and State Boards and Commissions. This means you getting involved. East Hawaii consistently has more voters registered and has more voters voting in the primary and general elections than West Hawaii, even though West Hawaii has the numbers to control the county-wide elections if that eligible population would just register to vote, produce good candidates, campaign for them, and vote. East Hawaii also serves up their share of State and County Board and Commission members. If you don't vote, don't complain. If you don't volunteer to serve on County and State boards and commissions, don't complain. Let's catch up on infrastructure, and have a productive moratorium as part of that process. Add up the cost of all the infrastructures West Hawaii and Puna needs that the County could supply: water, police, fire protection, County roads, recreational facilities and public access, adequate planning and building processing, inspection, and enforcement, and the like. It will be a huge tab. Then have the County issue bonds to pay for it all, with the costs of repaying the bonds to be a countywide tax obligation, paid for by all of the County's taxpayers, throughout the Island. West Hawaiians could get what they need to address and deal with the gross infrastructive shortages. East Hawaii would get renewed vigor in the West Hawaii economic engine, which drives the whole County forward. And the local economy gets a huge long-term boost in development of and investment in infrastructure. Needed from the State is prompt investment in State roads (like Queen Kaahumanu Highway), schools, University of Hawaii's West Hawaii campus, courts, jail and State office facilities, Kona and Kohala hospital facilities, paid for with a commitment to use money generated from West Hawaii spent here, such as the hotel room tax (TAT), traffic fines, excise and income taxes, and the like. And again the local economy gets a huge boost from public expenditures in infrastructure by the State. To get this kind of attention from the State will require strong, persistent State office holders from West Hawaii who show up, work hard, and can work with the majority of the State's legislators, combined with strong and vocal West Hawaiians on State boards and commissions. Not all of West Hawaii's current State legislators fit that description. This kind of concentration on the public good, in preference to' perceived private profit, would be promoted with a moratorium on rezoning agriculture, conservation and unplanned West Hawaii lands for urban use and private development. There are already many thousands of residential units zoned and/or permitted in West Hawaii. So there is no shortage at all of private development opportunities, even with the present shortage of infrastructure for all those yet-to-be- developed units. It is the rezoning for urban use of more and more agricultural, conservation and unplanned lands and the additional units the County is pressured to approve, without adequate infrastructure provided by the government and/or contributed by the developer, which so seriously adds to the mess. A rezoning moratorium would provide an opportunity for the County and State to catch up on infrastructure with massive investments, which will support a booming economy. Maui County used a rezoning moratorium this way under Mayor (now Governor) Lingle, and the resulting economy was called the "Maui Miracle". A serious change in attitudes, direction and effort by the County and State is needed to address the ever-growing serious and damaging problems in West Hawaii. Those changes start and should be supported by eligible voters by registration, voting, turning out the vote, candidates who will go further then business as usual, tax payers who will pay, supporting a moratorium, and citizens who will get involved proactively. Complaining by itself does nothing. Two issues arise before the County Council, the County Planning Commission, and the Mayor when a rezoning or any other development matter is up for consideration and decision. The first and most important issue, perhaps the only one that an elected or appointed official should consider, is the benefit and/or detriment to all of the people of the County of Hawaii that a rezoning or other development may generate. But County officials may consider the second issue with too much priority. That second issue is what benefits a rezoning or other development might bring to a developer. Since the County officials represent the public, which is all of the people of our Island, their paramount duty is to be fully and objectively informed about the benefits and detriments to the public each proposed rezoning and development may bring, and then make decisions for the public, regardless of whether or not the developer is or is not served. Some County officials might give lip service only to representing the public, and instead confuse serving the private developer's interests with serving the public. Why? They may talk about jobs or increasing the County's tax base or "affordable" housing, as reasons for approving a developer's project. But Big Island unemployment is now very low, the construction industry is busy and booked for many years to come, and family income has been rising and is predicted to continue to rise. The County's tax base is at a record highs and rapidly increasing for the foreseeable future as real property values increase. There are tens of thousands of existing rezonings and unbuilt units that were approved in prior years and which are yet to be developed and built out. These are providing jobs and increased County tax base for years to come. It is more than obvious that increased development has not reduced housing prices, and that population growth from many sources eliminates any chance of reduced housing prices by market action. Any argument that increased growth produces affordable housing in West Hawaii is laughable. So an official's justifications for approval of a developer's project on the basis of jobs, or increased tax base, or affordable housing are not reasons at this time and for the foreseeable future for the official to ignore the detriment to the public the development may cause the public. This detriment can be more traffic jams, spot zoning, damage to the environment that supports tourism, lack of infrastructure that the public and the County must eventually pay for with increased taxes, and destruction of the Hawaii way of life. Quality development, with immediate infrastructure contributions can benefit West Hawaii. The County lacks budget, staff and expertise to keep up with developers and their well-paid consultants, experts, and attorneys who pile on the paperwork and constantly promote the developer's project, lobbying the County Planning Department, the Planning Commission, the County Council and the Mayor. The County officials and staff all must be intelligent, experienced, thick skinned, and ever vigilant and diligent in honestly seeing the public benefit and detriment regardless of the profit the developer may be seeking by betterment of his property by governmental approvals. Not all County officials may have those characteristics, and as a result the public can suffer, particularly in West Hawaii. The increased value a developer immediately gets from County rezonings, approvals, and the like often greatly increases the worth of the developers property, enabling him to sell it for a huge profit with the new County entitlements without developing, or to develop for a huge profit. The County provides this wealth for a developer immediately open approval of the development. But, in the past, the County usually required nothing immediate from the developer in return: No roads, infrastructure, contributions, affordable housing or otherwise. The County has not required the infrastructure from the developer immediately, and has often deferred it until years later, and even given further delays whenever the developer requested. The result has been increased development, with lack of adequate public infrastructure, and the County having to address the infrastructure with public money when not timely provided by the developer. Two things that could help, if County officials show backbone and brains as well as allegiance to the public and to the future, is Concurrencv and/or a Rezoning Moratorium. Concurrency means that at the same time the added wealth of approval of a development is given by the County, the infrastructure that will address the detriment caused to the public is required to be provided by the developer. No deferrals, no contingencies, no excuses. A Rezoning Moratorium means no more rezonings are allowed to increase density and cause more infrastructure deficits in certain areas until already needed and approved infrastructure is provided by government action with public money and/or by the private money of developers that were supposed to create public infrastructure as a requirement and trade off for the immediate wealth given developers upon the County's approval of their developments. No more deferral for years with County acquiescence. A Rezoning Moratorium should cause no fear. It doesn't have to be Island-wide. Even with a moratorium on new development in certain areas until public infrastructure catches up, development would continue on the thousands of developments and units in the County already approved over the years but not yet built out. In fact, Maui County prospered greatly with a rezoning moratorium, propelling Republican Mayor Lingle to the Governship. True and enforced concurrency can be an acceptable alternative to a moratorium. It's long past time for serious change by the government of Hawaii County. It must now have the courage and intelligence for change.