HomeMy WebLinkAboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL - 129030Mori, Ashley
From: Morrison, Bethany
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 8:56 AM
To:General Plan
Subject: FW: Mahukona -- keep it the same
Ashley, please intake.
Thank you,
Bethany
From: Kim, Harry<Harry.Kim@hawaiicounty.gov>
Sent:Tuesday, October 29, 2019 3:17 PM
To:Yee, Michael<Michael.Yee@hawaiicounty.gov>; Surprenant, April <April.SurprenantCc@hawaiicounty.gov,
Cc: Ley, Rachelle<Rachelle.Ley@hawaiicounty.gov>
Subject: FW: Mahukona -- keep it the same
Hello — We've been getting phone calls (and now emails) about the designation for
Mahukona — whom shall we send this information to?
Thank you,
From:
Sent:Tuesday, October 29, 2019 2:29 PM
To: Kim, Harry<Harry.Kim@hawaiicounty.gov>
Subject: Mahukona -- keep it the same
Aloha Mayor Kim,
Below and attached are my comments about the General Plan 2040 draft. I would appreciate it if you would take a few
minutes to read them. I appreciate all the work you do for us.
Mahalo,
Mahukona—Keep it the same
It may appear that a number of people in North Kohala are asking the County to "change"
something when they press to remove the resort designation from Mahukona on the General
Plan. That's not the case. We are asking the County to keep the status quo. Keep Kohala,
Kohala, as the NKCDP says.
Over 800 years ago, when the first humans walked the coast at Mahukona, the land was
untouched, open to people to fish and walk the shore. Today the land at Mahukona is still almost
entirely untouched, and people still fish and walk the shore. It remains primarily open space.
What has changed is the words to describe it, not something tangible or bankable.
Fifty years ago the County put the Mahukona resort on the General Plan, the wish list for
development, at the urging of a failing locally-owned sugar plantation, seeking economic benefit
and jobs for its employees. Castle and Cooke could not get a developer and sold the land. Its
successor, a Japan-based hospitality corporation, tried unsuccessfully for 24 years to make the
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wish list" a reality by seeking zoning, subdivision and other entitlements that would have added
value to the property. It failed to get either the zoning, subdivision or the needed financial
backing for building the resort and high-end subdivision. It lost the land in foreclosure. Now, the
foreign-owned creditor is also seeking to sell the land to another foreign-owned resort developer
and start the process all over again. Only this time the original reason for putting the land on the
wish list is long gone.
On the other hand, Kohala residents have a 50-year history of working to preserve the
district's coastline in open space. (See attached) The North Kohala Community Development
Plan, County Ordinance No. 08-151, calls for the preservation of the open nature of the coast,
and specifically calls for the purchase of the land at Mahukona using the County's Open Space
Fund. A hui of Kohala community groups has nominated Mahukona to the Open Space
Commission's annual priority list for purchase every year since 2006, and the Mayor has
approved its high place on the list time and time again.
Fortunately, nothing has changed. The land remains basically untouched. People walk
along the coast and fish in the coves and tide pools every day. The words "resort" and "low
density urban" on the draft General Plan 2014 are not tangible. They are a wish from long ago. A
wish that did not come true. Does the designation put extra dollars into the pockets of a foreign
corporation that intends to turn around and sell development rights to another foreign
corporation? I don't think so. I believe that the designation for Mahukona should stay "open,"
where it was 60 years ago, and the use of the land continue to be open and free to the public.
Malama Na Lihikai 0 Kohalanei,
Toni Withington Hawi
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