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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL - 128985Mori, Ashley From: Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 5:24 PM To:Planning Internet Mail; General Plan Subject: Comment on General Plan Attachments: Comment to Draft General Plan.docx Please see attached comment (and ignore prematurely sent email). 3 1 x_ 28985 Aloha Planning Department, On page 30 of the draft Hawaii County General Plan 2020, the following wording appears. 36. 1.38 Amend Charter to revise land acquisition and preservation regulations and criteria (PONC) to include lands impacted by climate change or those with beneficial attributes for climate adaptation and mitigation. First of all, there is no explanation as to why the PONC is being addressed in the Hawaii County General Plan 2020,when the PONC is already addressed by the Hawai'i County Charter and would more appropriately be addressed by proposing amendments directly through the Charter Commission. The Charter clearly identifies the appropriate uses for the funds raised. If there is a suggestion to change that provision,that suggestion should go to the Charter Commission. A recent effort to change the PONC provisions was rejected by the Charter Commission. There is no apparent reason for inclusion of the proposed change in the PONC in the Draft General Plan, other than to attempt to preempt the authority of the Charter Commission by having the detailed amendment be adopted as part of the General Plan and then argued as somehow compelling the Charter Commission to adopt the same changes as those put forth in the General Plan. Amending the Charter cannot be done through the General Plan, so the proposed section set out above would be a superfluous part of the General Plan, if adopted. The exclusive manner to amend the Chart is through the Charter Commission, not through the General Plan. The suggested provision should be removed. If the provision is not going to be removed, as a number of comments already state: This sentence actually contains two separate concepts. One is very good; the other is very bad. The first concept is the bad one: to "amend Charter to revise land acquisition and preservation regulations and criteria (PONC) to include lands impacted by climate change..." PONC does not exist to acquire and preserve lands impacted by climate change. The purpose of the PONC fund is to purchase properties that can be enjoyed by the public as open spaces in perpetuity. The purpose is not to purchase properties from people who own coastal real-estate that will soon be underwater and/or un-usable as a result of climate chaos. That purpose would directly contradict the current 128985 PONC requirement that the property purchased is to be enjoyed by the public. The change would spend PONC funds on property that cannot be enjoyed at all. If the County wishes to create a fund to purchase such threatened lands, that should be pursued as an independent matter, not as a proposed amendment to the PONC provisions within the Draft General Plan. The second concept in the current General Plan wording is very good, in that it does serve the purpose of the PONC fund,while also serving the current dire need for meaningful climate action. The proposal to amend the Charter to revise land acquisition and preservation regulations and criteria (PONC) to include lands "with beneficial attributes for climate adaptation and mitigation" may well have merit that the Charter Commission can address. If the final General Plan includes the provision at issue here, I support including this latter concept. I do again raise the question as to why this suggestion is part of the Draft General Plan, rather than a proposed amendment made directly to the Charter Commission. Thank you for considering my views.