Is there any plan for Kona?
In 2005 the county completed a CDP — county development plan. Eleven years later they have done two things that I can find. Access to Kua Bay and the gymnasium. Now the council is approving two new developments on Alii and a large senior center. They say the we need more housing because prices are going up on existing homes. Totally false. Our neighbors and others like them selling their homes have dropped there prices steadily over that last year because no one is buying. (Just check out the Mls for this area for proof.) While Maui is at a all time high.
Where are these new Kona residents going to enjoy themselves? The council has given $17 million to fix a Hilo golf course that loses $500,000 a year. Building a $2.5 million dollar baseball/park in Pahoa directly in the path of a lava flow. Trying to build a multi-million dollar park in Kukuihaele that none of the residents want.
Are developers building near any of these areas? No! It is time the council starts taking action on the 11-year-old items in their own CDP. Which is not a plan but a wish list, unfortunately.
There is no wording about fixing zonings, buying land. They use the word encourage.
Well, we encourage you to do something right and accomplish these goals you set. Maybe in the next two years. In 2011, my children were going into middle school, they are now off island graduating from college. One whole generation that has missed having Kona be the premier place it could be.
The council saw fit to rezone a hotel next to Kahaluu to an educational area for only a small group of children that qualify to go there. Instead of keeping the zoning for another hotel that could employ hundreds of people and pay millions in tax dollars that could help with fixing Kona.
There are even free things the council can do to help upgrade the look of Kona. They can start making some quality of life ordinances to protect the neighborhoods that are not in homeowners associations from the one or two neighbors that stack trash and cars on their front lawns or run a business from their home. Parking cranes, dump trucks or unattended boats on their front lawns or in front of their neighbors homes. Even with vermin, ant and mosquito issues, the council still hasn’t taken the time to draft any clean up ordinances. This is happening at homes right next to the coast, which on any other island is premium property.
If it wasn’t for the many condo complexes with HOAs that keep them beautiful, Kona neighborhoods would be more junky than ever. The council is responsible for setting the atmosphere of junk around homes by ignoring the issue and in turn responsible for the hard to sell homes near these junk residences.
Graffiti is another issue, not recognized by council. Maui has these ordinances and many beach parks, why can’t Kona?
We emailed the council several times over two years about these issues with suggestions for neighborhood quality ordinances, building out Magic Sands, better water access at Kahaluu, etc. and only got one council member to respond (thank you, Karen Eoff), but she was not interested in driving Kona town and neighborhoods with us to view the issues.
This is voting season, all we hear is about big issues like homelessness, energy, but what about the focus on the voters and taxpaying-resident needs. Are the kids in middle school now going to be in college when the next letter is written asking why our council doesn’t maintain and better our unique Kona town and neighborhoods?
If you want to see change please email our council and this year don’t vote for incumbents, let’s get some new faces in that just might make something happen before it is too late.
Charles Watanabe is a resident of Kailua-Kona