Next O'oma Land Use Commission hearing

Aloha e,
The next date for public testimony on O’oma Beachside Villages (OBV) request to reclassify 181 acres of coastal Conservation land into Urban is this Thursday at 1:30PM at the King Kamehameha Hotel.

Talking points against this application include:

1) The Land Use Commission has already twice denied upzoning of this land.

2) Reasons to keep this land in Conservation have become much greater over the past two decades.

3) The infrastructure deficit in Kona, such as traffic and sewage treatment, has dramatically increased.

4) The National Park Service has found that the State Historic Preservation Division has not adequately protected cultural sites over the past ten years and is threatening to yank SHPD’s funding. As such, no Archaeological Inventory Survey or Cultural Impact Statement for any property can be relied upon.

5) The University of Hawai’i-Hilo Marine Sciences Department conducted a study of our nearshore marine water quality which found that “conditions may be developing for extreme environmental degradation”.

6) If all existing approvals for subdivisions and other development already approved in Kona were in place, Kona would look like Honolulu.

7) Numerous studies and polls of the Kona community conducted over the years have proven beyond doubt that Kona residents want “Kona to stay Kona”.

8) Given that one of OBV has hired as a consultant former Hawai’i County Deputy Managing Director and former state Dept. of Land and Natural Resources Director, Peter Young (Ho’okuleana), it is clear that the developer has inside political influence that the community does not enjoy (see NOTE below).


Regardless, there is no economic or legal basis for approval of the OBV application on this land.
If you cannot attend the LUC meeting, please send your testimony to luc@dbedt.hawaii.gov  .

Mahalo ia oe!
NOTE: At the March 3rd LUC meeting in Waikoloa, OBV’s consultants and other financially-conflicted supporters arrived early, forcing those opposed to the project to wait for many hours to testify. In addition, many people, including Kona representative Brenda Ford, attended the LUC meeting the next day under the traditional assumption that public testimony would be taken at the beginning of that meeting. However, they were not allowed to do so, despite having driven to Waikoloa from Kona.

Using experience as a guide, those opposing the project arrived early to the May 5th meeting so they could testify first. However, without prior notice, the LUC changed its traditional protocol of first-to-sign-up/first-to-testify. The reason given was to allow those who had not previously testified to testify first. As a result, everyone who had previously testified at the March 3rd meeting were forced to wait for as long as seven hours to testify.

After this, I received e-mails from numerous people, who had taken time from their jobs and businesses, saying that they would never again attend an LUC meeting. So much for encouraging public participation…
Chuck Flaherty