The screeching of heavy equipment tearing apart the ‘aina at the makai end of Ka’iminani Drive is heart-wrenching to those who see new Matsuyama development as writing on a Back to the Future wall.
As a member of the Kona Community Development Plan’s (KCDP) Action Committee, I attended a meeting a couple of years back where this plan was presented. I felt overwhelmed by the pressure of development entities in and outside the small room and knew that my feelings, logic, and the history of why the proposal was counter to the KCDP and wrong for our region would be lost in that sea of opposition to my community’s larger, and clearly expressed, interests.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, the pace of development in West Hawaii became furious, unsustainable, and unbearable. At last, a process was initiated by then Mayor Harry Kim to bring North and South Kona communities together to discover what was going wrong, what their visions were, and what could be done to change developer-driven growth into a smarter paradigm that could take us away from becoming another region caught in a cycle of clogged roads, lack of services, and avoidable social and environmental degradation.
Over ninety percent of community stakeholders who took part in the KCDP scoping process said that a top priority was to preserve coastal land including stopping all future development makai of Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. Matasuyama’s latest development continues a culture of non-listening by business and political leaders and portends potentially devastating future impacts to public resources including damage to nearshore waters, view planes, and air quality, not to mention more gridlock. All of that instead of pursuing the (legally mandated) creation of walkable, saner communities that connect and preserve neighborhoods, open space, nature and indigenous culture — visions that were poo-pooed at that meeting as less important than being able to grab a snack after a flight within a mile of the airport (even though Matsuyama’s “Pine Tree” development with its restaurants and gas station are a stone’s throw away).
The strip of roadway makai of the highway from Kailua town to the airport shouldn’t look like the frontage roads of Las Vegas or Dallas, but there’s no doubt that the next proposal straight out of that playbook is coming. And good ideas like EV charging stations don’t need to be part of it.
To stop this kind of unsightly, undermining development from becoming a trend, you, as a regional stakeholder, must stay informed and act to help propel the visions of the KCDP whenever possible. Attending KCDP, Leeward Planning Commission, and Hawaii County Council meetings where these proposals often come to light are good places to start. See Hawaii County’s website for schedules and agendas.
Janice Palma-Glennie is a resident of Kailua-Kona.