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Home My WebLink About2025-03-05 Kathleen Mishina Testimony From: Kathleen Mishina To: WPCtestimony Subject: Testimony to WPC for Special General Plan Meeting on March 10,2025 Date: Wednesday,March 5,2025 10:54:37 AM Attachments: Testimony to WPC re General Plan 2045 page 1 o3.pdf Testimony to WPC re General Plan 2045 page 2 o3.pdf Testimony to WPC re General Plan 2045 page 3 o3.pdf Aloha to all members of the Windward Planning Commission, I am emailing my written testimony for the upcoming WPC meeting for the General Plan 2045. My 3 page testimony is attached. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you, Kathleen Mishina 808-895-0313 kmmishina(a4gmailxom March 4, 2025 Louis Danielle 111, Chair Wndward Planning Commission Hawaii County Planning Department Aupuni Center 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 RE: Testimony for Special General Plan Meeting, March 10. 2025 Dear Mr. Damele. 1 am submitting testimony in support of the General Plan 2045- It is a solid plan for addressing many environmental issues with a strung focus on sustainability and resiliency for our island communities_ At the same time, we want sustainable development and infrastructure planning to ensure island communities Can meet the future needs of its people- ( am a resident of Volcano Village and 1 wotAd like to address Section 2: Collaborative Biocultural Stewardship. This part of the General Plan validates the values that we, in Volcano Village, hold dear These indude the preservation of the Volcano biosphere where people live, wont, and support sustainable property and land management practices to preserve the ohia forest overlay. However, current County zoning and regulatory measures fall short of ensuring sustainable stewardship of the Volcano biosphere. Regulatory measures are in dire need of revision because careless and unregulated activities Continue to destroy the forest overlay. VVhen coupled with climate change, this trend will lead to further forest degradation, loss of watershed protection and loss of endangered species found nowhere eise in the world. Volcano Village is a threshold community for the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park(HVNP), which is designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for its biocuttural significance, as well as an UNESCO International Bposphere Reserve_ Volcano Village :s located in what can be regarded as a "kosphere reserve buffer zone {BRBZ)' and/or a "biosphere transition zone" since the Village, Volcano Community Golf Course and Mauna Loa Estates share boundaries with the core biosphere area of the HVNP, Keauhou Bird Conservation Center(State of Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Diego Zoo Widlife Allcance,Three Mountain AlliancelKamehameha Schools), Ola'a Rainforest and two Natural Area Reserves of Pu'u Maka'ala and Kahauale'a. The very close proximity of the Volcano Village area to these protected biocultural assets reinforces our community's value to preserve the biosphere and ohia forest Evidence of dimate change is upon us in the Village and greater Volcano area as we observe drier seasons, ohia treefforest die back, increasing numbers of invasive plant and animal 1 species (insects, wild pigs, plant disease vectors) as well as unregulated clearing and grading. The cumulative effect has many of us very concerned_ The County's General Plan 2045 recognizes climate related changes impact our fragile ecosystems. I support the sections on Collaborative Biocultural Stewardship and Addressing Climate Change in their entirety. I am in very strong SUPPORT the following policies and actions, which are especia€Iy relevant for us in Volcano Village and to the implementation of our Volcano Community Plan priority on forest overlay protection. 1 Collaborative Biocultural Stewardship Ob ectjve 1= Increase biodiversity and resilience of native habitats Policy 1.3 preservation and restoration of---forests...__aquifer recharge areas that have the inherent capacity to prevent.. minimize, or mitigate the impacts of climate change Policy 1.14: Partner with ....communities to 1.14 a) Implement State VMldlife Plan (SWAP) 1.14 g) Expand native and'or endemic forest cover Actions 1.c. Consider establishment of clearing limits within the Code and increase tree removal mitigation requirements, limiting the clearing of native vegetation during development 1.9. Support programs designed to prevent introduction and establishment of invasive species._._partiWarty those that serve as disease vectors. 1.h. Develop buffer policies to protect native forests, vvi Idhfe ...and other native habitats. 1.€. Create incentives for landowners to retain and re-establish forest cover.... 1 1 Amend the Code to rncentrvize the establishment of threatened and endangered endemic plant species within their habitable ranges dunng development approvals 1.m. Review the Code and Consider amendments to encourage site clustering of development in order to avoid critical environmental areas and assets- To.o. Study, develop, and establish Biosphere Reserve Buffer Zones. either 2 separately or as an overlay district, to guile development wTthrn native forests through regulatory measures and economic incentives. In closing, there are many challenges to preserving the integrity of our native habitat watersheds, as well as cultural and historic assets. Our island has unique biodiversity that is threatened by climate change and careless human activity. The General Plan 2045 is a very important road map for communities like Volcano Village, Through the policies and actions proposed, we, at the community level, have the opportunity to collaborate with the Planrmng Department to preserve the environment and lifestyle we value not just for ourselves, but for future generations. Therefore, please keep the entare section of Coi[aboratnre SiorrulturaI Stewardship intact, as motten. because our comm of Volcano Village will bg uaing to ao forward with out Qommunity l�y range pau My sincere gratitude to everyone who worked so hard to put this General Plan 2045 together. Sincerely, Kathleen Mishina P. O. Box 1257 Volcano, Hawaii 96785 kin rn[s.�itt��r Qrn a i I.co m 3