HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0762.056 2004-2006
Murashige, Laura
From: KEOFF@co.hawaii.hi.us on behalf of KAPILAGO@co.hawaii.hi.us
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 8:18 AM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: FW: Opposes Hawaii County Council Bill 246 SUBDIVISION CODE
-----Original Message-----
From: Donald MacGowan [mailto:macgowan@email.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 4:56 PM
To: Pilago, K. Angel
Cc: Yuen, Chris; Harry Kim; Isbell, Virginia
Subject: Opposes Hawaii County Council Bill 246
TO: Councilman Angel Pilago Planning Committee Chairman,
KAPILAGO@co.hawaii.hi.us
From: Donald B. MacGowan, PhD.
re: Bill 246
Date: 30 April 2006
cc: Virginia Isbell, Harry Kim, Chris Yuen, Josh Green
Councilman Pilago:
Passing Bill 246 will do nothing to enhance the quality of life for Hawaii
County taxpayers; in fact, it would serve to exacerbate the current decline
in that quality. The County simply wishes to change laws it finds
inconvenient simply to suit their agenda, not to better serve taxpayers.
Sunday's West Hawai'i Today quotes Planning Director Chris Yuen as saying:
"...people who don't want the changes proposed by Bill 246 are fighting all
growth..." Once again (this time in the person of Chris Yuen) the County
Bureaucracy are here to tell me what I think, like so much else they
undertake, once again they get it completely wrong.
Also, Yuen's statement is patently untrue and Mr. Yuen knows it; he simply
seeks to marginalize and demonize opponents in an effort to neutralize
them--a common, and cheap, political ploy.
And yet once again Chris Yuen tries to play the fear card with taxpayers;
his current dishonesty and dissembling with Hawaii County taxpayers ill
serves this man who otherwise is known for being fairly straight-forward and
honest. However, given the amount of unchecked and unbalanced power Bill
246 would give him, it's understandable that he's not exactly playing by the
rules this time. Also, fearing his cushy satrapy threatened by public
outrage at his attempted outright usurpation of power to waive, at will,
environmental requirements, public hearing requirements, subdivision
application information requirements, he trots out some outrageous
falsehoods and misleading statements simply for their fear value.
Why?
Because once again County Bureaucracy was caught by the courts breaking
laws, once again the County wants to change those laws to suit their agenda,
not to better serve taxpayers. l Z S f
Someone should make sure Mr. Yuen understands that the public outrage is not Comm. U0.
about "fighting all growth", its about the County and developers ramming Ref. To:
development after development down our throats regardless of public wishes Ref. pate
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and testimony, regardless that it will further stress already over-burdened
infrastructure, regardless of whether those developments represent the
greatest good for the greatest number of residents.
It's about people demanding that for once that the County follow its own
laws and not simply change or ignore laws that they find "inconvenient'.
The County spent millions on consultants and meetings for the Kona Community
Plan. Testimony overwhelmingly stressed two things: 1) keeping Kona,
"Kona", and, 2) freezing development until infrastructure catches up. Why
won't Yuen listen?
The reasons are as obvious as they are odious.
Yuen claims that unless Bill 246 passes the Planning Department will have to
go back and review past approvals and that hundreds of past and present
subdivision applications could be invalidated. Another patent untruth, this
tack in rhetoric is obviously condescendingly misleading, if not maliciously
fallacious. No subdivision previously approved can be invalidated for
failure to submit the required information because the statute of
limitations for appeal is 30 days for any subdivision application.
Yuen complains of the time burden upon his staff that the unamended law
imposes; it is not the public's fault nor should it be their problem that
the Planning Department is so poorly administered and staffed that employees
cannot perform their lawfully-mandated duties in a timely fashion. This is
Yuen's and ultimately Harry Kim's problem; they should address it
administratively, not by legislative fiat.
Changing this law does nothing to enhance the quality of life for County
residents and taxpayers; in fact, it goes a considerable way to exacerbating
the decline in quality of life we already suffer.
I oppose Bill 246.
Sincerely,
Dr. Donald B. MacGowan
808.345.1590
76-161 Royal Poinciana Dr
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
cc: Virginia Isbell, Harry Kim, Chris Yuen
"In a word, in Hawaii the most valuable product of the forest is water,
rather than wood. It follows that the conservation of its watersheds by
keeping them permanently clothed with protective forests, is there the chief
duty of the forester."--Ralph Hosmer, first Territorial Forester of Hawaii
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