While Kona folks are protesting their “right” to spread COVID-19, their deepest rights to a healthy, safe, and sustainable future are being stolen out from under them.
The choices for Hawaii County mayor were underwhelming, so residents gave Mitch Roth a chance. Well, this horse belted out of the gate, and it’s Roth 10, Kona 0. Starting with blatantly pro-growth nominees for critical county positions (including Planning Director), Roth and his slim, rape and pillage County Council majority (Heather Kimball turn-coating on constituents as Swing Vote 5), have started their assault on protective, smarter land use law. Why is the important?
The way natural, cultural, recreational, and other precious public trust resources are used and managed is largely decided through land use planning. Do you hate being stuck in traffic; having no adequate hospital unless you fly to Oahu; coastal waters fouled by inadequate sewage mitigation; landfills growing with no plan except trucking trash to Pu’uanahulu; viewplanes that inspire and give a sense of place decimated by a sea of tin warehouses, cell towers, and millionaire “security” landscapes; neighborhoods disrupted and torn apart by vacation rentals, or keiki without safe places to walk and play?
Every person who lives and visits Hawaii is affected by land use planning, yet our mayor appears poised to tear apart laws (which Community Development Plans, aka CDPs, are) that citizens gave blood, sweat, tears and tax dollars creating as a defense against no holes barred, pro-growth agendas. (The Kailua Village Design Commission is another citizen-driven entity in Roth’s line of fire.)
Residents have nurtured and bled for the award-winning Kona CDP. We fought to level the playing field between residents and developers. We wanted (want) planning that’s driven by the visions and goals of residents — not by real estate agents, developers, or corporations. The reason Kona’s CDP hasn’t propelled us farther forward is because county planners never created an Open Space Network Plan, which is required by law as a bedrock ingredient for protecting public resources from being trashed by unplanned growth. Why not figure that out instead of emasculating community planning?
If you don’t fight for the island’s protective planning laws (start by calling Roth at (808) 961-8211), you’ll have plenty of time sitting in traffic regretting how you could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.
Janice Palma-Glennie is a resident of Kailua-Kona.