KAILUA-KONA — The county’s Planning Department said it will release a draft of the general plan, which is used to guide land use and development on the island, this Friday.
Once the draft is out, the department will host a series of events around the island throughout August to collect comments from the public.
The last comprehensive review of the general plan was in 2005. The public can view the current general plan at http://www.hiplanningdept.com/general-plan.
And this update, the county said, will include issues not addressed in that last plan, including climate change, water resource management and food security, among others.
“This plan is the first county plan to focus on sustainability with specific goals of self-sufficiency, social equity, economic mobility, and community well-being,” said Planning Director Michael Yee in a press release. “These concepts are woven throughout the plan.”
The update involved the review of both the 2005 plan, the community development plans (CDPs) of each district from around the island as well as input from county agencies, the public and CDP action/steering committees.
The first community event is scheduled for Saturday at the Waimea Middle School gym with a meeting at Hilo’s Aupuni Center the following day.
Then on Aug. 24, a meeting is scheduled to take place at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona, with another meeting at the Naalehu Community Center to follow on Aug. 25.
All meetings are scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, during which time the public can come in to offer comments.
The Planning Department will hold smaller events next month to focus on specific topics.
The deadline to comment will be Sept. 30.
Once the comment period closes, the draft along with any revisions will go to the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions for their review before finally going to the County Council for potential adoption.