HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0349.137 2006-2008 Murashige, Laura
From: Janice Palma-Glennie [palmtree7@hawaiiantel.net]
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 11:31 PM
To: county council testimony
Cc: Ford, Brenda
Subject: Save Punalu'u forfuture generations ::.uf JUI~ L~ ~[r? r
Importance: High
~,~i_,_,
PO Box 4849
Kailua-Kona, HI 96745
Aloha, Councilmembers:
It's ironic that there's even a glimmer of discrepancy over the public purchase and long-
term protection of coastal land at Punalu'u. It seems that even when the community and
government finally get something so "right", there'll always be someone who disagrees.
Meanwhile, the corporate sharks school around, awaiting the spoils. It's up to this County
Council to ensure that the public is the clear winner on this one!
The ability to preserve even a tiny bit of the coastline as public property, public open
space, public domain is a gift that most residents around the island only dream of having
come true. Yes, jobs are needed in Kau, but at what price? Haven't the folks in that
region been to Kailua-Kona? Waikoloa?
Waikiki? So many new ideas are coming forward for ways to earn a living that don't destroy
the land and social structure of an area. Ecotourism, agriculture,..these must be expanded
upon (locally, not corporately) to help the people of Kau thrive in the natural,
beautiful environment. It may seem a bummer to have to drive 45 minutes to a job, but when
you can cover 40 miles in 45 minutes, compare that to having to sit in traffic snarls
where you're lucky to get 10 miles in 45 minutes because of the traffic. (Welcome to
Kailua-Kona!). You pass development after cancerous development with house after house,
condo after condo in look-alike neighborhoods that grow like cancer across the region
housing that costs a king's ransom! The jobs that were once close to home get farther away
as the land near resort developments is priced increasingly out of the reach of local
residents (affordable only to those who come from far away, who never live there, who
speculate...). Those are the realities of what happens when a community gives away their
precious natural resources to the highest bidder.
The tragedies of mega-resort development are just around the corner, unless the mistakes
of Kona, Maui, and Oahu aren't repeated.
I urge this council to grab this gift the ability to save a crown jewel for the public-
before it slips away. And I ask those who might question this wonderful gift to please
not fall for the "same old, same old" false promises that any giant resort development
will bring long-term hope for a community's well-being.*
Let's all stick together as one island voice to protect those areas we can for the public
good, for the protection of nature, and for the perpetuation of native culture.
Mahalo for voting to fund the purchase of this precious land for the Public.
Best regards,
Janice Palma-Glennie
*Low-paying, unsustainable employment provided by corporate ventures has cost West Hawai i
more than it could ever give back. For those who were born and raised on this island and
who are often stuck in low-paying, dead-end service jobs, or unsustainable construction
jobs, this dead-end cycle of mega-resort development demands more, more, more development
and destruction of the land and culture of hawai'i. ~,p
Comm. No. 3 T ~ • ~ 3,
Ref. Toy
Ref. Dote JUN
i