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Home My WebLink About2024-11-01 Janice Palma-glennie Testimony GP 2045 LPCFrom:janice glennie To:LPCtestimony Cc:Planning Internet Mail; Surprenant, April; Villegas, Rebecca Subject:General plan comments Date:Friday, November 1, 2024 12:25:09 PM AlohaLeeward Planning commissioners, Mahalo fortaking ourtestimony today. Hopefully youandstaffwillunderstand moredeeply thefrustrations being expressed abouttheprocess thatcontinuestoleaveinterested members ofthepublicunwilling todevotemoretimetolearning aplatform that’sbeenbeyondglitchy, sometimes notopening depending onthedayand, inmycase, noneofmycomments included after I’dtypedthemin. In40years ofpolitical engagement inthiscounty, thislasttwohas beenthemostfrustrating asfarasfeelinguninclusive. Housekeeping: inordertowatchthevideo fromtoday, onemustsignupforgoogle ratherthan accessitthrough thecountywebsite whichwouldbemore Akamaiandnotrequiresigning up toyetanotheremail-generating website. Otherissues: Today’smeeting wascutshort despite itbeingmeanttocoversuchanimportant topic. Having toaskommissioners toindividually askstafftofurtherexplainthekonveio platform rather thandoitatthemeetingwasamissed opportunity thatcould’vegivencommissioners andthe generalpublicasharedexperience learning tounderstand itsuse. Thatkind ofactivitywould helpthepublicfeelmoreincluded inwhat’sbeenamystifying process. Sendingeveryone off ontheirowntomaketheirwaythrough theexisting weedshasn’tbeenandisn'thelpfulandis, again, oneofthemainreasons thisplan isreceiving suchunfavorable publicreaction. Italso takesstafftimetoanswer thesamequestions overandoverinavacuum oftwo (emailof phone) insteadofdoingitinagroup setting — which isexactly howthisallprocess should’ve beendonefrom2020 whenthisadministration tookthereigns. Please hearme: I’mnotaskingtostarttheprocess over. However, Iamasking, andhave continued toaskfromthebeginning ofthisprocess, fortheretobecharette-stylemeetings where thepublic, asagroup, couldengage todiscusstheplan, askquestions, andprovide freshideaswithplannerswithoutconstantoverlapandconfusion ofhaving todoiton-the-fly orinavacuum. Thepublicshould’vebeentaught andpracticed usingwhatever platform was going tobeusedtotakecomments interactively inalarge, public group setting (akacharette). Timeandagain Itriedtheplatform, contacted April aboutissues, couldn’tseemycomments onthemaps, etc., etc.. Those interactions mademefeelevenmoreseparateaswellasguilty fortakingupApril’s timewhich isalready toostretched. Nothavinganyguarantee thatthepubliccaninitiate andexpectsubstantive changestotheGP atcouncil levelisanother reason forpublic feelingsofdisenfranchisement. We’resittingon pinsandneedleswaitingtoseeifcouncilman Inaba’sbillpasses. Even ifitdoes, itmaynot insurethatthepublicwillbeheard. (Andby “beheard”, nooneexpects thateverything they wanttobeincluded intheplanwillbe; Butwedoexpectsomesubstantive changeswhere needed astherearelotsofchangesbeingmadebytheadministration.) AsItestified, justadding newzones totheGPandLUPAG isabigdeal. It’sanother perfect exampleofwhereaninteractive-typepublicmeeting was/isneeded — notwith3-minute, staid testimony requirements — sothatpeoplearebrought intothefoldandareonthesamepage withunderstanding andamodicum ofagreement. Asfaraseliminating mapping, weknowwhatsideofthedevelopment paradigmMrFukeand select privatelandowners herepresents embrace (more, moremore development andless, less regulations). Mapsareatoolforthepublic tosee, visualize, andlearnwhat’shappening with ourlands. They’renecessary forbetterclarity andlessfightingatpermitting levelabout what’smeant intheplan. Athispoint, youandtheadministration cankeepallornothingoftheplanasyouchoose though, asyouindicated, you’renotgoingtotossitout. Thesensethatthisprocess isasfar alongasitiswithoutthepublicfeelingatallcertainthattheirvoiceisbeingincorporated into theplan — wherecomments madedon’tevenshowupontheinteractive maps — is demoralizing andmakesthepublicfeelthatdisenfranchisement hasbeenpartofthe administration’sgoalfromDay1. Thisisexacerbated bythemayorcomingoutofthegate speakingnegatively abouttheimportance oftheCDPs. Speaking ofmayor’scomments...pleaseomit “nimbyism” fromtheplan. Thewordand concept isdivisiveandmisleading. Ascaptain oftheplanning ship, thatkindof characterization ofcomitymembers who’vetakenthetimetolearnandspeakupabout how theywanttoprotect communities andresources onlycreatesmore feelings ofpublic disenfranchisement and, infact, anger. Andspeaking ofbeingfreetosaywhatourpolitical leaders havesaidandwritten...it’sa breachoffreespeechfortestifiersnottobeabletopointoutwhereourleaders arebeing wrong-headedoreven corrupt. Alreadybeinglimited3minutestestimony whensomeonelike Chuck Flaherty orthemanspeaking about Hawaiian Homes concerns —peoplewithreamsof crucialinformation toshare — istoughenough, andwasn’talways county protocol. And sendingitaswritten testimony isn’tthesameashaving itheard inperson. Again, Ifeelthat lettingthepublic havetheirsayisawaytoshow inclusivity, tocreate betterrelationships and goodwillbetweengovernment andthePeople, andtogetthingsdoneinthefuturewithout constantfighting andill-will. Willpublictestimony betaken attheNovember 4thmeeting? Mahalo foryourvolunteerism andfortakingwhatcouldbealotoftimegetting thehangof theKonveioplatform. Idont’ feelIhave enoughhoursorweeks leftinmylifetospendthem trying todecipherglitchytechnology (Iactually spentweeks), butIsurehope commissioners do. Bestregards, JanicePalma-glennie Kailua-kona Cc: AprilSuprenaut, CouncilrepVillegas