A series of public meetings about planned updates to Hawaii County’s General Plan will come to an end next month.
Last November, the county Windward and Leeward planning commissions began special meetings to discuss a series of amendments to the General Plan, which was last updated in 2005.
Those meetings were part of a months-long public review period for an updated General Plan that was published last August and is intended to guide the county through 2045.
Sessions held each month went in-depth on each of the document’s chapters, with opportunities for residents to provide comment at each stage.
The Leeward Planning Commission on Monday concluded its review, while the final Windward Planning Commission special meeting will begin March 10.
Monday’s meeting was itself an extension of a meeting held last Thursday — which focused on the plan’s chapters about “Thriving, Diversified and Regenerative Economy” and “Implementation and Monitoring” — with the two sessions taking more than 11 hours in total.
Janice Hata, long-range planner with the county Planning Department, presented last week a variety of potential policies and actions to help diversify the county’s economy, balancing tourism with agricultural development. Some of those policies included streamlining regulatory processes to make it easier to start a business, supporting agricultural research and development so farmers can optimize their operations, and “increasing authentic Hawaii Island visitor experiences.”
The Leeward commission ultimately decided Monday to recommend that the County Council approve the updated General Plan, with some minor amendments, most of which simply fine-tuned the document’s language.
Some of those amendments the commission discussed were to a lengthy list of “natural beauty sites” included in the General Plan, which could be eligible for preservation via a “Scenic Resources Protection Program.” In particular, Commission Vice Chair Donna Noborikawa pointed to a pair of sites — a grove of Indian banyan trees in Hawi and a stand of ironwood trees along Kohala Mountain Road — that she said probably shouldn’t be included.
“I love the banyan trees, I love the ironwoods,” Noborikawa said. “I want to wait until we have more guidance about how these sites are selected.”
Noborikawa said those specific sites are private property, and that at least one property owner was surprised to learn that their own land was being considered for a natural beauty site designation. Noborikawa moved to remove those sites from the list, which the commission approved.
Much of the lengthy run-time of the two sessions on Monday and Feb. 20 was dedicated to public testimony, the vast majority of which urged the commission to reject the updated General Plan.
Public opposition came from various directions. Many argued that the General Plan’s emphasis on improving urban density could “replace the friendly Polynesian culture that is so treasured” by turning communities into “controlled, dystopian housing projects,” according to one chain letter submitted by multiple people.
Others criticized what they saw as an excessive focus on urban development while underserving rural communities.
Adele Henkel wrote that aspects of the plan focused on technological projects such as broadband expansion and renewable energy development have no realistic funding mechanisms, while rural roads continue to deteriorate.
Still others saw increasing regulations on what landowners are allowed to do on their properties.
“It effectively limits where normal people live, where they can go, where they shop, where and what kinds of recreation they can have and do,” wrote Ken Honma of Kurtistown. “How can this commission possibly evaluate the impact that this plan will have on our communities without real quality of life evaluations?”
And many testifiers argued that they haven’t had enough time to evaluate the document and criticized the decision to hold all public meetings about the plan on weekdays, with many sessions cancelled, postponed or rescheduled since November.
In any case, the plan is not approved yet. Once the Windward Planning Commission makes a recommendation next month, the County Council will discuss it at a future meeting.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
