HomeMy WebLinkAboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL - 128963Mori, Ashley
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Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 8:55 PM
To:General Plan
Cc:
Subject: Resort Designation at Mahukona - draft General Plan 2040
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Aloha Planning Director Michael Yee and other County officials working on the draft
The resort designation for Mahukona must be removed from the Draft General Plan 2040 for several ,very
significant reasons. z c
1. The zoning for that resort "is no longer in effect", according to a Planning Department letter to the current
owner, a pension fund in Canada, which acquired the land from Kohala Preserve Conservation Trust in
foreclosure in 2012. The current zoning of the land is agriculture. So how, when and why did your planning
group continue to designate Mahukana as a Resort and Low-Density Urban designation. At a Speakouts
meeting at Kohala on Sept. 25 - Planning Director Michael Yee said he is getting "lots of political pressure"
to maintain that resort designation. Who is applying that pressure, Mr. Yee? You can not maintain the resort
designation because of political pressure. The Kohala community and indeed the entire constituents whom you
serve in the County of Hawaii deserves an answer. The pension fund in Canada and the Morrison Grove
holding company in Florida who was hired to dispose of the property can not dictate the use of land in Kohala.
2. The wording in the new General Plan describes six requirements on how decisions are made for the
plan. None of the six requirements were met in designating Mahukona as a resort area- such as 1) Must be
consistent with the CDP's - not so, the North Kohala Community Development Plan(NKCDP) calls for the
County to use the 2% Open Space Fund to purchase the 434-acre private land between Mahukona and
Lapakahi. How can the officials working on the draft of General Plan 2040 operate completely independently
oftheir own rules and so blatantly in direct opposition to the NKCDP. Is the County Planning Department
begging for a lawsuit to challenge the actions in designating new resorts in undeveloped coastal area - like
Mahukona?
3. Mahukona is a cultural/historical gem that needs to be preserved. I was born and raised in Kohala, I am a
retired educator from the DOE and the Kamehameha Schools and I live in Kohala. - Kohala is my Kulaiwi (land
of my ancestors) I am a Kohala kupuna, (84 yrs.old) and direct a Kohala preservation project sponsored by the
North Kohala Community Resource Center- "Malama e na Wahi Pana 0 Kohala" I visit, and continue to study
many cultural/historical sites in the 434 Mahukona area that have significant religious and cultural significance
to kanaka maoli - Hawaiians. My project is one of five community groups that are in the process of funding the
purchase ofprivate coastal lands to open space. Our five groups recently assisted the County Parks Div. to
acquire 1.4 million dollars from the State Legacy Land funds. We would be pleased to work collaboratively
with the County Parks to acquire the Mahukona lands for conservation, preservation and continued recreational
use. Besides, Mahukona is Kohala's favorite fishing, camping, swiming area- I earned so many of my Boy
Scout merit badges at Mahukona- like cooking, hiking, trailblazing, swimming, etc. Mahukona may currently
and legally belong to the group in Canada-but in reality, Mahukona has belonged to Kohala citizens/residents
for many generations. Mahukona can not be a private resort area- it means too much to too many people of
Kohala and the County of Hawaii and the rest of the world.
Lele o Kohala me he Lupe la(Kohala soars like a kite - Hawaiian proverb describing how Kohala's people
overcome problems and adversities),
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Kohala Historian/Kupuna
128963