You are welcome to cut and paste my testimony and send it as your own. NO TO BILL 47!!
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Aloha City Council Members, I
am writing all of you to share my thoughts on Bill 47. I have copied in
the representative and senator for my voting district so they are also
aware of my concerns in relation to Bill 47. I have submitted testimony
to the Ko'olauloa Board and to the City Council in previous hearings. My
position has NOT changed. I am in opposition of adopting the revised
Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan. There is nothing
sustainable about the revised plan. With large projects already in the
works in Honolulu, central and west O'ahu as planned by the Oahu General
Plan, I find it very difficult to understand why there would be a need
to revise the Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan to include even
more housing. The argument of the HRI, BYUH, and PCC is
that they need work force housing. All the work force housing they could
want will be available at the Koa Ridge and the Ho'opili developments
as well as all the Kakaako developments. Many people commute to work
from Ko'olau Loa into town. The same could be done in reverse. I am
upset that HRI, BYUH, and PCC are arguing to develop such a beautiful
part of our island. They say they are the largest employers in our area
but barely pay above minimum wage and have no cost of living adjustment
built in to the wages. This is why many people commute to town. The
high demand for housing also comes with a high demand for food. All of
our ag zoned land in Koolau Loa should remain ag. We must promote
farming and true sustainability so that we are not dependent on ships
from America to bring us food.
The traffic issue has not been
addressed. Kamehameha Highway from Haleiwa to Kahalu'u is a parking lot
because nothing has been done to alleviate the traffic. Tour buses and
tourists along with residents of the area jam the highways making it
unpleasant to drive or travel along Kamehameha Highway and Envision Laie
wants to build more houses. 1,000 more homes in Ko'olau Loa will come
with a conservative two cars per home making our roadways clogged with
2,000 more cars. That is a conservative estimate considering our
multi-family living style in Hawai'i. If we conservatively estimate 6
people per household, that's 6,000 more people clogging the beaches,
over fishing, and disrupting all the natural beauty in our area. A
thousand more homes will drastically change the landscape and coastline,
negatively. In the short run, one generation gets to
enjoy brand new homes. In the long run, we are selling the health of
our environment and our ability to teach the next generation of native
Hawaiians about the food that comes from the earth and the ocean.
In 2013, I wrote a letter to
Kirk Caldwell expressing my opinion on Envision Laie. What upset my about his reply is the he sides with HRI's bid to develop. His exact words, "No other entity, in
recent years, has come forward in proposing affordable, workforce
housing for the communities of La'ie and Kahuku, on a scale large enough
to really make a difference in addressing the demand." Does this mean
that anybody could come in and bull doze the land to fit their needs if
they pay high enough? The letter states that there is overwhelming
support for affordable housing but as I stated in the first section,
what kind of affordable housing is going to be provided? More than
likely it will not be a public housing development. Instead we will have
homes upwards of 600k. The public housing issue should also be
brought up. I don't necessarily like the idea of public housing projects
in Ko'olauloa but the City shouldn't rely on a private entity to do
something about affordable housing. If I pay taxes the same as everyone
else on the island then I should be afforded the same services as in
other communities. There are income-based homes all over the island.
Does the City feel that it does not need to service our area of the
island because its HRI/BYUH/PCC responsibility to do so? We are
basically being ignored by Kirk Caldwell because HRI is willing to do
it. That is hog wash! If Adolph Hitler were alive and he wanted to
develop a camp here in Ko'olauloa we should just allow him to do so? All
of this just boggles my mind that Caldwell would put in writing that
HRI came up with a plan and so he supports it. The
revised plan only takes into consideration what HRI /BYUH/ PCC wants to
do and ignores the surrounding communities. We had a plan and submitted
it. HRI circumvented the public's right to have input on revising it
and submitted the revised plan. That action alone should be grounds to
dismiss adopting the revised plan. The overwhelming majority are against
the adoption of the revised plan. There is a divide in this community and I
will continue to be very vocal about how I feel about this proposed
development. What one generation benefits from may be the undoing for
the generations that follow. Ponder that because I honestly think that
the story that Envision Laie is selling to its followers is not exactly
the one they are planning behind closed doors. I have mentioned a couple
times that I follow the money trail. Who stands to profit the most?
Profit is the motivation. Anything else they sell to the public is
fool's gold. Now that I have discussed some of the reasons why I do not support it, here are a number of solutions I am proposing. 1.
HOUSING: I remember in the early 80's, the Kahuku housing development
was part of a USDA program. I would support a small number of homes if
directed by the USDA. However, I do not support a private developer
because of the obvious gentrification it will cause. 2.
SUSTAINABILITY: We need to promote ag and inspire the new generation to
want to raise food. What happens when we have completely paved over
paradise? We will rely on food from outside sources as we do now when we
have all the natural resources at our finger tips. On-island food production should match the number of people on the island. It defies logic and only takes into consideration the people wanting housing now. What do we do when inventory runs out? NO TO BILL 47! Mahalo Nui,
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