com > Editorials >
Letters to the Editor
Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009
TOO MUCH GIVEN TO DEVELOPMENT
Even as D.R. Horton-Schuler plans a new 12,000-home development on agricultural land in Kapolei, I cannot help but feel that Oahu has already been horribly overdeveloped.
For a state so reliant on tourism and its reputation for natural beauty, we in Hawaii always seem eager to permanently despoil the unique gifts nature has provided us with. One cannot help but be shocked after seeing pictures of Waikiki from only 50 years ago; it seems a completely different world from the concrete jungle and filthy beaches that now sprawl across Oahu's south shore.
Even in the short time I have grown up and lived in the islands, I have seen my home change in ways that can never be reversed. There are plenty of options for creating jobs and spurring economic growth that do not sacrifice everything that makes Hawaii the paradise that it is; if these avenues are not pursued, however, future generations may very well grow up in a land of asphalt and steel without ever realizing what they have lost.
David Jaress
Kaimuki
You need to be a member of maoliworld to add comments!
"Adopted by the 1985 Legislature, The Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act (see Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes) - also known as Florida's Growth Management Act - requires all of Florida's 67 counties and 410 municipalities to adopt Local Government Comprehensive Plans that guide future growth and development.Comprehensive plans contain chapters or "elements" that address future land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, coastal management, conservation, recreation and open space, intergovernmental coordination, and capital improvements. A key component of the Act is its "concurrency" provision that requires facilities and services to be available concurrent with the impacts of development. For more information, you may view a presentation about the concurrency requirement."
"Citizens are afforded several opportunities to challenge decisions that may be inconsistent with the Growth Management Act and local government comprehensive plans.
Pursuant to Section 163.3184, Florida Statutes, an "affected person" has the right to petition for an administrative hearing to challenge the Department's decision that a comprehensive plan or plan amendment is, or is not, in compliance with the Growth Management Act. "Affected persons" are (1) the local government that adopted the plan or plan amendment; (2) an adjoining local government that can demonstrate substantial impacts; (3) persons who own property, reside, or own or operate a business within the boundaries of the local government that adopted the plan or plan amendment AND submit comments between the proposed hearing and the adopted hearing; and (4) for future land use map amendments, persons who own property outside of the local government jurisdiction, and that property abuts the property affected by the future land use map amendment. The petition must be filed with the Agency Clerk, Department of Community Affairs, within 21 days after publication of the Department's Notice of Intent.
Section 163.3213, Florida Statutes, provides that substantially affected persons have the right to maintain administrative actions which assure that land development regulations implement and are consistent with the local comprehensive plan. A substantially affected person, within 12 months after adoption of the land development regulation, may challenge a land development regulation on the basis that it is inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan, by filing a petition with the local government outlining the facts on which the petition is based and the reasons the substantially affected person considers the land development regulation to be inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan. The local government has 30 days to respond to the petition. Thereafter, the substantially affected person may petition the Department not later than 30 days after the local government has responded."
Under Land Development Regulations: "Land Development Regulations (LDR) include the local ordinances necessary to implement the goals, objectives, and policies of local comprehensive plans"
Right now developers and the "state" of Hawai'i etc have control over natural resources which is NOT good. Is that the highest and best use of the land? The thing is... they already know that it's not and positions in the public sector indemnifies themselves of personal liability so more annoying.
Of course a Catch-22 is jurisdiction and in the end who loses as usual... Hawaiians.
If they build MORE people will come... straining the water, air, land, and food supply. Malama the aina. Enough said.
I whole-heartedly agree with you. I was on Kaua'i at the time Iniki hit the islands. The destruction was like a bomb that hit the island; not a pretty sight. The stress left many ill or dead from the effects of it in the aftermath. I admire the resiliency of the Kaua'i people as they rallied together to cleanup the island and to kokua their neighbors. What a remarkable people, as always!
O'ahu is over-populated with ka po'e haole from all over the world and usually they complacent in maintaining the island while thinking its the pesky kanaka maoli that makes a big to-do about malama ka 'aina. Even some kanaka maoli have contributed to trashing the place; not like my generation; today they are monkey see-monkey do generation and need to restore the malama ka 'aina system. I know it's an overwhelming task; but they should enforce it no matter what. All immigrants and settlers should be required to attend a program on how to malama ka 'aina and do their part in providing the preservation and proper conduct of maintaining the island. It's everyone's kuleana to do that.
SHPD has seats FOR LARGE PROPERTY OWNER APPLICANTS:
Please indicate the name and mailing address of the large landowner or developer whom you wish to
represent and attach a letter from the large property owner acknowledging or authorizing your
representation of the large property owner on the island burial council:
This to me is a conflict of interest and supports the developers on the council to set parameters that are for their own interests; when it is a council that needs the clout to preserve the historic preservation and not to work around the developers' interests. This has been the nemesis of this department that draws a stalemate in the decisions of that department which should preseerve those sites and set parameters on how that piece of property should be handled. It's puting foxes within the chickens to determine the outcome. Smart, eh?
On O'ahu, we are over-powered on O'ahu by developers, immigrants and setters, military, State and County governments, and people indifferent with selfish, tunnel-visioned ideas. These are people who with defeatist attitude refuse to change their way of thinking. These are the ones that think native Hawaiians, kanaka maoli, conservancy groups are a nuisance. This concept needs to change to imporve the conditions on O'ahu. It's like the o'opu trying to find streams to go up-river.
What is criminal about this potential development is the fact that it would be on prime ag land that could feed the island of O'ahu if done right. So now we see that the Waiahole/Waikane water diversion was really NOT about Leeward farmers needing the water for ag, but about future development of the Ewa Plain and outlying areas. Yet the players involved pit one group of farmers in Leeward O'ahu against another group of kalo farmers on the Windward side, the source of this highly valued water.
It is a crime that we import 90% of all goods and it is a disaster waiting to happen. What if Felicia had hit O'ahu as a Category 4 hurricane? Cut off from the rest of the world, it wouldn't be long before mayhem would break out when there is no more water, batteries, toilet paper, rice...to name a few. This is what happened on Kauai after Iniki, but being a rural community we pulled together, neighbor to neighbor, community to community and shared what we had. Here on Kaua'i we realize the value of self-sustainability...we know what it is like to be cut off from the outside world, but with farmers, fishermen, hunters, gatherers pulling together, we can survive. Our kupuna did for hundreds of years.
Don't give up your ag land on O'ahu. Fight for it. Too much concrete and asphalt on that island. Too many people, too many everyting!!!! You think traffic heading in and out of Ewa and beyond is bad now? OMG!!! O'ahu at one time was one of the most beautiful, fertile islands of the entire archipelago....not any more. Very sad. It is my ku'u one hanau, land of my birth and of my kupuna, but it has been ruined by the powers that be with absolutely no FORESIGHT and no sense of ALOHA AINA!! Sometimes I pray for mother nature to cleanse what we as humans have thoughtlessly ruined. After Iniki, we had a mass exodus of people who, the minute the going got rough, left to return to where they truly belong...the continent. Hardly any tourists, beaches empty, we could throw net where a million dollar home once stood and blocked access. For me it was a time of healing...of mother nature doing what she has done for millions of years. Didn't take long before the next group of newcomers moved in, building more of their million dollar homes, blocking beach access and erecting no tresspasssing signs along trails once used to fish or hunt.
My mana'o was that if Felicia came then it was meant to be. Time for summer house cleaning. No offense and I wouldn't wish physical harm and/or death on anyone. I am just fed up with over-development of our beautiful islands.
People need to pull themselves together with their council reps to malama their district and create county ordinances to stop this from happening in their neighborhoods; much work in this area but it is a start to stop from this happening. Look into your County General Planning - create Community Development Program Committees for each district so that they have a say to the County General Planning. We have done that for our district. We worked out guidelines to follow for our community as to what we say we want and the overseers must follow what we want in the guidelines. No ifs, ands or butts. We are tired of agricultural properties being used for golf course projects and we have put a stop to this FINALLY after over 30 years of work in fighting issues in our community of 6000+people which has doubly grown in 20 years.
Replies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Adopted by the 1985 Legislature, The Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act (see Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes) - also known as Florida's Growth Management Act - requires all of Florida's 67 counties and 410 municipalities to adopt Local Government Comprehensive Plans that guide future growth and development. Comprehensive plans contain chapters or "elements" that address future land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, coastal management, conservation, recreation and open space, intergovernmental coordination, and capital improvements. A key component of the Act is its "concurrency" provision that requires facilities and services to be available concurrent with the impacts of development. For more information, you may view a presentation about the concurrency requirement."
"Citizens are afforded several opportunities to challenge decisions that may be inconsistent with the Growth Management Act and local government comprehensive plans.
Pursuant to Section 163.3184, Florida Statutes, an "affected person" has the right to petition for an administrative hearing to challenge the Department's decision that a comprehensive plan or plan amendment is, or is not, in compliance with the Growth Management Act. "Affected persons" are (1) the local government that adopted the plan or plan amendment; (2) an adjoining local government that can demonstrate substantial impacts; (3) persons who own property, reside, or own or operate a business within the boundaries of the local government that adopted the plan or plan amendment AND submit comments between the proposed hearing and the adopted hearing; and (4) for future land use map amendments, persons who own property outside of the local government jurisdiction, and that property abuts the property affected by the future land use map amendment. The petition must be filed with the Agency Clerk, Department of Community Affairs, within 21 days after publication of the Department's Notice of Intent.
Section 163.3213, Florida Statutes, provides that substantially affected persons have the right to maintain administrative actions which assure that land development regulations implement and are consistent with the local comprehensive plan. A substantially affected person, within 12 months after adoption of the land development regulation, may challenge a land development regulation on the basis that it is inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan, by filing a petition with the local government outlining the facts on which the petition is based and the reasons the substantially affected person considers the land development regulation to be inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan. The local government has 30 days to respond to the petition. Thereafter, the substantially affected person may petition the Department not later than 30 days after the local government has responded."
Under Land Development Regulations: "Land Development Regulations (LDR) include the local ordinances necessary to implement the goals, objectives, and policies of local comprehensive plans"
http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/DCP/compplanning/index.cfm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now developers and the "state" of Hawai'i etc have control over natural resources which is NOT good. Is that the highest and best use of the land? The thing is... they already know that it's not and positions in the public sector indemnifies themselves of personal liability so more annoying.
Of course a Catch-22 is jurisdiction and in the end who loses as usual... Hawaiians.
If they build MORE people will come... straining the water, air, land, and food supply. Malama the aina. Enough said.
I whole-heartedly agree with you. I was on Kaua'i at the time Iniki hit the islands. The destruction was like a bomb that hit the island; not a pretty sight. The stress left many ill or dead from the effects of it in the aftermath. I admire the resiliency of the Kaua'i people as they rallied together to cleanup the island and to kokua their neighbors. What a remarkable people, as always!
O'ahu is over-populated with ka po'e haole from all over the world and usually they complacent in maintaining the island while thinking its the pesky kanaka maoli that makes a big to-do about malama ka 'aina. Even some kanaka maoli have contributed to trashing the place; not like my generation; today they are monkey see-monkey do generation and need to restore the malama ka 'aina system. I know it's an overwhelming task; but they should enforce it no matter what. All immigrants and settlers should be required to attend a program on how to malama ka 'aina and do their part in providing the preservation and proper conduct of maintaining the island. It's everyone's kuleana to do that.
SHPD has seats FOR LARGE PROPERTY OWNER APPLICANTS:
Please indicate the name and mailing address of the large landowner or developer whom you wish to
represent and attach a letter from the large property owner acknowledging or authorizing your
representation of the large property owner on the island burial council:
This to me is a conflict of interest and supports the developers on the council to set parameters that are for their own interests; when it is a council that needs the clout to preserve the historic preservation and not to work around the developers' interests. This has been the nemesis of this department that draws a stalemate in the decisions of that department which should preseerve those sites and set parameters on how that piece of property should be handled. It's puting foxes within the chickens to determine the outcome. Smart, eh?
On O'ahu, we are over-powered on O'ahu by developers, immigrants and setters, military, State and County governments, and people indifferent with selfish, tunnel-visioned ideas. These are people who with defeatist attitude refuse to change their way of thinking. These are the ones that think native Hawaiians, kanaka maoli, conservancy groups are a nuisance. This concept needs to change to imporve the conditions on O'ahu. It's like the o'opu trying to find streams to go up-river.
It is a crime that we import 90% of all goods and it is a disaster waiting to happen. What if Felicia had hit O'ahu as a Category 4 hurricane? Cut off from the rest of the world, it wouldn't be long before mayhem would break out when there is no more water, batteries, toilet paper, rice...to name a few. This is what happened on Kauai after Iniki, but being a rural community we pulled together, neighbor to neighbor, community to community and shared what we had. Here on Kaua'i we realize the value of self-sustainability...we know what it is like to be cut off from the outside world, but with farmers, fishermen, hunters, gatherers pulling together, we can survive. Our kupuna did for hundreds of years.
Don't give up your ag land on O'ahu. Fight for it. Too much concrete and asphalt on that island. Too many people, too many everyting!!!! You think traffic heading in and out of Ewa and beyond is bad now? OMG!!! O'ahu at one time was one of the most beautiful, fertile islands of the entire archipelago....not any more. Very sad. It is my ku'u one hanau, land of my birth and of my kupuna, but it has been ruined by the powers that be with absolutely no FORESIGHT and no sense of ALOHA AINA!! Sometimes I pray for mother nature to cleanse what we as humans have thoughtlessly ruined. After Iniki, we had a mass exodus of people who, the minute the going got rough, left to return to where they truly belong...the continent. Hardly any tourists, beaches empty, we could throw net where a million dollar home once stood and blocked access. For me it was a time of healing...of mother nature doing what she has done for millions of years. Didn't take long before the next group of newcomers moved in, building more of their million dollar homes, blocking beach access and erecting no tresspasssing signs along trails once used to fish or hunt.
My mana'o was that if Felicia came then it was meant to be. Time for summer house cleaning. No offense and I wouldn't wish physical harm and/or death on anyone. I am just fed up with over-development of our beautiful islands.