HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0349.801 2006-2008
Murashige Laura
From: palmtree7@earthlink.net
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 5:56 PM
To: cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us
Cc: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us; Ford, Brenda; Pilgfj, Hdtf~!ar~!, Fete;
editor@hawaiiislandjournal.com
Subject: please support full acquisition of punalu'u
~
Aloha, Mayor Kim,
I'm forwarding a letter to you (below) which I sent to West Hawaii Today but which, as of
yet, has not appeared in that paper.
One point 2 didn't make because of length considerations is that it's not only the peogle
of Ka'u who are affected by the public purchase or non-purchase of that land, Every
decision our government takes on this island regarding land use reverberates throughout
the island community and ecostems...We are all one.
I hope you won't forget the numbers of people on this island (10,000!!) who fought for and
supported in the most intense way the purchase and set-aside of open, natural space for
all people - of all generations - to cherish, to learn from, to enjoy through use of
their hard-earned tax dollars. r~_
r:.
Mahalo for your consideration of my views on this most critical matter.,,^~ c
r.=_
Best regards, r
Janice Palma-Glennie _ ~
C'
cc: County Council representatives, Sierra Club-MLG executive committee _
Janice Palma-Glennie -
P.O. Box 4849 "1
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745 ~ ~ "
Tel#:808-324-0093
I've never been polled on my feelings about any mega-development on Hawaii Island. And
despite decades of voices crying out for protection of North and South Kona from the
final scraping and paving and privatization of the ~aina, the County almost without-
fail (and rarely without a legal fight) has given the "go-ahead" for just about any_
development scheme that came down the pike.
Then came the triumphant election of a "new, improved", more publicly- (as opposed to
corporately-) driven County Council majority, the creation of an Open Space Commission and
the signing of a petition by over eight thousand registered Hawaii County voters
demanding the protection of open space for the benefit of public took the cake. Power to
the people, right?
Not exactly. A copious public scoping process and decades of pleading to set aside wide
open spaces for the public led to Punalu~u's place as "top dog" for County acquisition..
But a new paradigm brought new challenges. Confusing wording kindled community infighting.
Elation dissolved and, voila!: a developer now closes in on another opportunity to seize
control and use of critical, coastal land.
Councilman Yagong's plan 1) to give the developer more opportunity to re-present their
Punalu'u plan and 2) to survey the residents of Ka'u about the public purchase of that
land seems to have incensed an already smoldering situation. But will the community allow
itself to fall into another "divide and conquer" trap and ultimately miss a golden
opportunity to gain control and protection of Punalu~u coastline? Has the new Council
paradigm of taking the longer view for the benefit of generations of residents been
undermined, again, with ultimate "mighty buck" theft in the wind? bnl
Comm. No. _ I ~ "
1 Ref. To: ~2
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Ref pott_.___------~'
Questions loom about the value and validity of the Punalu'u survey: Who will fill it out
and mail it back? Will results be thrown out if only five percent (or fifty percent?) of
residents respond, or will there be a re-survey? Will this same opportunity be given to
other island region residents to weigh in on looming development proposals (i.e., at
HonokohauJKealakehe, O`oma II, etc....), even though the community through hearings,'
letters, petitions, and elections has made it clear that it craves protection of
Conservation and other critical areas from inappropriate development? Or will the decision
to give the "green light" to the highest bidder prevail at Punalu'u another in a long
line of mega-development mistakes that will bring more problems than it solves just
because of the results of a one-off survey?
Zt's clear that Ka`u needs economic help, but residents are kidding themselves (and
ignoring history) if they think that a resort development will fulfill its promises to the
host community. (Traffic, sprawl, gates, get in line for public beach parking, soaring-
land prices...one needs go no further than Kona or South Kohala to see the vast "mega-
resort" footprint.)
Only work and cooperation will lead to the deep healing that public access and control of
natural, open space can bring to families and communities. A mature approach means meeting
the challenges that are bound to arise when a gift of land is secured for the public, for
all time.
When the sea at Punalu'u becomes polluted, the roads gated, the noise unabated; when the
ohana moves to Hilo or Oceanview to make ends meet, and the children have gone to the
Mainland to find decent paying jobs, no amount of wishing and hoping will bring this rare
opportunity to acquire the Punalu'u coastline back to Hawaii residents.
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