From the Defend Oahu Coalition website:
The draft Ko'olauloa Sustainable Communities Plan (KSCP) does not reflect the needs of the majority of residents and communities of Ko'olauloa. Laie Developer HRI (the for-profit arm of the Mormon Church) circumvented public process and forced massive expansion plans for BYUH, PCC, and Malaekahana into the draft. The developer at Turtle Bay Resort also met behind closed dorrs with DPP and successfully pushed through an untimely and unsustainable expansion plan calling for 5 additional hotels and 1,000 additional condominiums. According to the KSCP's vision statement for the region (Chapter 2-1) the plan "seeks to preserve the region's rural character and its natural, cultural and scenic resources." In its current draft form, the plan will not maintain that vision.
The website has a form letter that you can send to several key people in government that are involved in the governmental processes regarding the North Shore of O'ahu's proposed expansions. The following has combined my personal opinions along with the form letter (highlighted). If you so feel inclined to question this behind-closed-doors-expansion, please go to the DOC site and submit your opinion.
* * * * * * * * * *
Aloha,
I am writing to respectfully ask that DPP change the draft
Ko’olauloa Sustainable Communities Plan to reflect the needs of the
residents of all communities in Ko’olauloa.
Through an entirely transparent process, the
public recommended sustainable and forward-looking changes to the
existing plan, all the while remaining true to the vision for
Ko’olauloa. Over 5,000 residents signed a petition to remove the massive
expansion plan at Turtle Bay Resort from the Sustainable Communities
Plan. The vast majority of residents recommended deleting provisions
that exempted the resort from complying with current laws and conditions
because the expansion is no longer consistent with the community's
sustainability goals. This request to remove the Turtle Bay Resort
expansion (after overwhelming community opposition and the Hawaii
Supreme Court ruling on a supplemental EIS) was completely ignored by
DPP. Changes also made to the draft at the departmental level (i.e. the
proposed “Envision Laie” plan) were based on a development proposal not
vetted through a process that was proper and transparent. DPP should
(at the very least) bring their version of the plan back out to the
Public Advisory Committee for review. I also request that the City and
County of Honolulu put off adoption of the Sustainable Communities Plans
until the General Plan is adopted.
I would like to address specific topics and ask that you consider them carefully:
Family
Sustainability :: With the proposed expansions by Turtle Bay and HRI's
Envision Laie, the Ko'olauloa Community and adjoining communities will
be implants from Provo or tourists. None of the families that have
existed in this community have been taken into consideration!
Housing :: Expansion of Malaekahana is ridiculous. It will use all
the ag and pasture land for development of homes. The land adjacent to
HRI's property belongs to a chum of Steven Wheelwright. Once HRI/BYUH
gets the okay to develop Malaekahana for housing, the adjacent 450 acres
will get developed. Once the initial inventory is gone, we will face
this same crisis in the future. With rising cost of fuel to ship goods
to Hawai'i -- we should be encouraging the development of agricultural
parcels and return to small-truck farming. This will ease the cost of
food to the people that exist in these islands!
JOBS:: If the ag land remains, we can develop the ag land as farms.
Jobs can be created by developing farms. This is much more sustainable
in the long run considering that much of the money will remain here in
the islands.
TRAFFIC:: With this looming development of our beautiful ahu, there
is no way this can happen without a traffic study. It is already
ridiculously crowded during the day and evening. Residents of the area
are held captive until after the Polynesian Cultural Center's evening
show has completed; 930pm at the earliest.
Polls and surveys by HRI/BYUH are not indicative of the community at
large. In fact, their results are highly skewed in their favor.
Suspect!
Neither the expansion plan at Turtle
Bay Resort, nor “Envision Laie” fit within the confines of the Oahu
General Plan, which specifies that “Ko’olauloa’s natural resources and
predominately ‘country’ character should be maintained by allowing only
limited development in established communities, and that agricultural
lands along the Windward, North Shore, and Wai’anae coasts are to be
maintained for diversified agriculture”.
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