Action Alert: Protect Farm Land in Lualualei!
Wai’anae may lose valuable farm land in Lualualei if the proposed draft of the Wai’anae Sustainable Communities Plan (WSCP) is adopted by the Honolulu City Council. The present draft of the WSCP would result in a loss of agricultural land and threaten to open the door to future industrial and urban encroachment.
The most critical issue is stopping a proposed industrial park in Lualualei (the notorious ‘purple spot’). The majority of Wai’anae residents who participated in planning sessions and testified on the plan opposed the industrial park, but the industrial park was included in the proposed plan by the City planners.
The Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning and Planning will have a hearing on the draft Wai’anae Sustainable Communities Plan, TOMORROW, September 29, 2011 at 9:00 am at the Honolulu Hale Committee Meeting Room.
Help save valuable agricultural land in Lualualei Valley from being paved over for an industrial park!
Please testify in person or submit written testimony. OPPOSE the current draft of the Wai’anae Sustainable Communities Plan.
In person (one-minute presentation): Register by 9 AM:
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Use the On-Line City Council Speaker Registration form available at http://www1.honolulu.gov/council/attnspkzp.htm;
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Send a fax to 768-3827 indicating your desire to register to speak, along with your name, phone number and subject matter
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Fill out the registration form in person or call 768-3815.
Written:
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Fax to 768-3827 or
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Go to http://www1.honolulu.gov/council/emailzp.htm to email your written testimony
By submitting written testimony, you are not automatically registered to speak. Refer to “SPEAKER REGISTRATION” procedures above.
If submitted, written testimonies, including the testifier’s address, e-mail address, and phone number, may be posted by the City Clerk and available to the public on the City’s DocuShare Website.
Here is the link to the Council Committee on Zoning and Planning Agenda.
Some points you can make in your testimony:
- Amend the plan to remove the proposed industrial park in Lualualei.
- The proposed industrial park in Lualualei is a blatant example of ‘spot zoning’ that caters to special interests over and above the long term interests of the community and violates good planning principles. The purple spot will disrupt the integrity of the agricultural lands in that area, making the area more susceptible to urban development in the future.
- O’ahu cannot afford to lose any more farm land. Lualualei has some of the most fertile soil for farming. No can eat concrete! Stop the urban ‘cancer’ from spreading. Young people in Wai’anae want to farm but are frustrated by the shortage of available land.
- The proposed site of the industrial development is known as the birthplace of Maui, the Demigod, one of the great heroes and dieties in Hawaiian legends. Constructing an industrial park on this site would be a violation of this cultural signifcant area.
- There is not justification for the industrial park. Demand for industrial park space is weak, with many vacant sites in Campbell Industrial park just down the road.
- No highway through Pohakea pass. This road would destroy a cultural significant area, where the goddess Hi’iaka crossed from Wai’anae to ‘Ewa. Some say a highway through Pohakea will be a disaster like the H-3 freeway that destroyed many sacred sites and threatened endangered species. Kolekole Road can be improved and access negotiated with the Navy and the Army for a second access road to Wai’anae.
- No new landfills in Wai’anae. Wai’anae is a victim of environmental racism. Stop dumping on Wai’anae. Ban future landfill development in Wai’anae.
- Restore and recover military lands for environmentally and culturally sustainable uses, with a priority on agriculture and restoration of traditional cultural uses. Keep the language in the plan that calls for the return of military-controlled land to the community.
All people have a fundamental human right to live in a clean and healthy environment and to determine their future cultural, economic and social development. The Wai’anae Sustainable Communities Plan must not be hijacked by powerful and wealthy interests seeking to impose their profit-driven model of development that is harmful to the long-term well-being and sustainability of Wai’anae.
For more information see: