Aloha,
Bad news. The City Planning and Zoning Committee did not amend the Wai`anae Sustainable Communities Plan to remove the purple spot today like we had hoped.
Basically, Council member Berg introduced an amendment to remove the purple spot as a non-voting member of the committee. There are 5 voting members and we needed 3 to pass the amendment. We only had two -- mahalo to Council members Harimoto and Gabbard for listening to what we’ve been saying and for speaking with understanding and clarity. Council members Cachola, Kobayashi and Anderson all voted against the amendment.
We have one last shot to make this right -- it will take everyoneʻs effort to make it happen. The full council considers the Wai`anae Sustainable Communities Plan (and the damn purple spot) on WEDNESDAY Feb. 15th in Kapolei Hale. It will be a long hearing -- Bill 50 in right in the middle -- please make time to come even if it is only for a little while. Call 524-8220 to find out the status of the hearing or follow us on twitter: @kaheaalliance.
In the meantime, please call the following City Council members, especially if one of these happens to be yours.
Ernie Martin (Wahiawa to Kahalu`u) 768-5002
Ann Kobayashi (Manoa to Kaakako, Makiki to Kaimuki) 768-5005
Ikaika Anderson (Waimanalo to Kaneohe) 768-5003
Tell them:
Todayʻs hearing was long and drawn out. All day we watched the Director of Planning, David Tanoue, spin a tale of half-truths misleading the committee with no real recourse for the community to make corrections.
The whole discussion really went off the rails at the simple question posed by Ikaika Anderson, “What happens to the land if the Purple Spot is removed?” to which Tanoue answers “It reverts to it’s status quo, P-2.”
We have one last shot to make this right -- it will take everyoneʻs effort to make it happen. The full council considers the Wai`anae Sustainable Communities Plan (and the damn purple spot) on WEDNESDAY Feb. 15th in Kapolei Hale. It will be a long hearing -- Bill 50 in right in the middle -- please make time to come even if it is only for a little while. Call 524-8220 to find out the status of the hearing or follow us on twitter: @kaheaalliance.
In the meantime, please call the following City Council members, especially if one of these happens to be yours.
Ernie Martin (Wahiawa to Kahalu`u) 768-5002
Ann Kobayashi (Manoa to Kaakako, Makiki to Kaimuki) 768-5005
Ikaika Anderson (Waimanalo to Kaneohe) 768-5003
Tell them:
- Removing the purple spot from the Wai`anae Plan does more for farmers in Wai`anae than leaving it in.
- The industrial park proposed by Tropic Land would bring 500 vehicles an hour up Hakimo, a country road,
- The Tropic Land proposal does not mention a word about supporting agriculture, and
- The Tropic Land propsal would have to serve non-Wai`anae businesses in order to be profitable.
Todayʻs hearing was long and drawn out. All day we watched the Director of Planning, David Tanoue, spin a tale of half-truths misleading the committee with no real recourse for the community to make corrections.
The whole discussion really went off the rails at the simple question posed by Ikaika Anderson, “What happens to the land if the Purple Spot is removed?” to which Tanoue answers “It reverts to it’s status quo, P-2.”
Huh? No, nothing reverts because nothing has changed. The P-2 (preservation) zoning was assigned by the City in 1996 as compromise for a proposed golf course. With or without the purple spot, the land is still zoned P-2, which is a city zoning designation that comes under the state Ag district. The plan is not a zoning document -- in fact it was meant to prevent mishaps like the golf course by laying out in general terms what is allowed where as determined by the residents of the district.
Well, after listening to Mr. Tanoue, the members came to the conclusion that the removal of the Purple Spot equates to a golf course. This is absolutely NOT true. Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi even said she supports farming in Lualualei Valley and recalls how hard people fought against the golf course, even quoted Mr. Higa. But she somehow convinced herself that inviting an industrial park into the valley was more farmer-friendly than leaving the land as it is. She needs help understanding what an industrial park in the back of the valley would do to Hakimo Road farmers -- please call her and explain.
While it is true that industrial zoning (I-1) allows for a few more ag-support services, it also leaves the door wide open for all kinds of other industries like truck base yards, mechanized car washes and commercial parking lots and garages. Furthermore, while P-2 does provide for a golf course, it also allows for crop production, composting, aquaculture and livestock grazing (none of which are allowed in an I-1 area).
The reality is, for 16 years, a golf course has been allowed on this property and none has been built. It is unlikely a golf course ever would be built there. This is due in part to a restriction placed on the golf course approval in 1996 that requires the golf course to use its own water, not potable city water. There is not enough water on that property to support the unnaturally green grass of a golf course.
In the words of Mr. Higa, “No can eat golf balls!” Well, guess what, we can’t eat concrete either.
The purple spot is not just about this one fallow farm in Lualualei Valley, it is about the whole fate of Lualualei Valley and the family farmers there. Approval of this industrial spot sets the stage for industrializing that whole corridor in the years to come -- industrialization that will erode the fabric of farming in Waianae. Mr. Higa and his family farm were unnecessarily evicted in 1996 for that golf course, it is time to set that injustice right, not make it worse.
Please call your council member and attend the council hearing on Wednesday at Kapolei Hale at 10 AM.
Mahalo,
Marti and Shelley
The purple spot is not just about this one fallow farm in Lualualei Valley, it is about the whole fate of Lualualei Valley and the family farmers there. Approval of this industrial spot sets the stage for industrializing that whole corridor in the years to come -- industrialization that will erode the fabric of farming in Waianae. Mr. Higa and his family farm were unnecessarily evicted in 1996 for that golf course, it is time to set that injustice right, not make it worse.
Please call your council member and attend the council hearing on Wednesday at Kapolei Hale at 10 AM.
Mahalo,
Marti and Shelley
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