HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0349.178 2006-2008 ~llla~rie ~aea
P,O. Box 690
Na'alehu, HI 96772
808,929-8364
June 4, 2007
Honorable Council Members,
Thank you for selecting a centrally located site for this public hearing. I am
Ruth Marie Bass. I live in Ka'u. I am a new member of O Ka'u Kakou and I
support Resolution 169-07. More than a year ago, I attended a series of somewhat
secretive meetings with real estate agents, Pat Blew and Ken Carey of Sea
Mountain Five and Group 70's George Alta, as they began organizing the
community group which came to be known as O Ka'u Kakou. O Ka'u Kakou has
since been diligently negotiating with these real estate agents on several
community concerns, including the size of property to be set aside as a County
park. As yet, (and quite responsibly on the part of OKK) there is no Memorandum
of Agreement with these real estate agents. (1)
I believe the County should negotiate directly with property owners, SM
Investment Partners, after their contract with Sea Mountain Five expires. This
resolution enables the County to accept outside resources such as matching state
and federal funds, grants from foundations and the $3,000,000 requested by
Congresswoman Mazie Hirono for the preservation of this exceptional shoreline.
Ref. To:
Ref. Dafe, _1LiN ~I 20 _
Approval of this resolution is the first step towards balancing preservation
and a sustainable economy. Preserving these coastal lands, does not exclude
development on the rest of the Sea Mountain property. A small eco-hotel, a
hidden paradise of tropical foliage with cottages, conference and dining facilities
on the mauka side of the highway would offer jobs to local residents, without
attracting a massive in-migration of job seekers, or resulting in the loss of our rural
life-style. (2)
[SUMMARY] Ka'u has the highest percentage of home ownership in the
state, according to UH Center on the Family. If we allow Kona-style resorts and
expensive housing developments, that will be the end of affordable housing in
Ka'u and the beginning of GENTRIFICATION, displacement of the earlier,
usually poorer residents by the rich.
We must honestly acknowledge what has happened elsewhere, then choose
innovative solutions if we are going to protect what we have today. As a member
of both organizations, I believe it is possible for O ga'u Kakou and Ra'u
Preservation to merge and work in unison as perennial stewards of this coastal
land, once truth prevails. I urge you to restore the balance to Ka'u by taking this
first step to vote in favor of this resolution. Mahalo,
TES~`dv'ION1' `pf 1W~th' Marie Bass June 4, 2007