County Council to take next step for preserving Honolua Bay
VIEWPOINT by DAVID KAPAKU and RICHARD MOON
POSTED: November 9, 2008
Many are wondering what is going on with Honolua. First, the Save Honolua Coalition and Honolua Advisory Council would like to clarify that no "deal" has been made. And second, there is a vision for the area outlined in our "One Plan One Pulse" presentation.

The plan is like an umbrella covering Maui Land & Pineapple Co.'s proposal entitled "Compromise for Conservation," which, if carefully negotiated with the Maui County Council, would achieve step one in the plan: secure the land.

The community, the company and the county agree that Honolua should be saved. We also agree that maintaining open space, public access and the revitalization of the ecosystem through a community-based management plan utilizing Hawaiian practices and values is imperative.

To review the "One Plan One Pulse" presentation, please go to www.savehonolua.org or www.honoluabay.org.

The Save Honolua Coalition and Honolua Advisory Council, two community groups, feel Maui Land & Pineapple Co.'s proposal is an acceptable position from which to initiate negotiations with the Maui County Council, knowing full well that modifications to their proposal will incur during the process.

While concerns about the proposal have arisen, the community supports the process of negotiation between the Maui County Council and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Items that will be negotiated are park credits, TVR zoning, the Important Ag Land Bill, land use, etc. Although the community groups are not as knowledgeable about said items, we believe that both county and company will negotiate an equitable agreement creating a win-win situation for Maui residents.

So what is the role of the community during the process? As the resolution moves through the County Council, there will be public hearings, each giving the community an opportunity to present testimony. Public testimony lets members of the County Council know what the community favors or dislikes about the proposal, what the community will not compromise and why the community still cares about Honolua. To stay informed about these public hearings, go to either Web site mentioned above and join an e-mail list to receive notices and updated information.

To help facilitate the start of dialogue, we drafted a letter to County Council Chairman Riki Hokama and council members. The following is a shortened version:

We are two community organizations formed out of concern for the Honolua and Lipoa Point areas. Although our groups differ slightly in our overall vision for Honolua, we were able to work through our differences to assist in developing a solution for this special area that would align with our unified mission.

Through facilitated meetings led by the Mayor's Office we realized that for our plan to move forward, there must be unified support of the community, the county and the landowner.

After dialogue with the landowner they created the proposal "Compromise for Conservation," which requires county participation. Mayor Tavares met with both groups to explain what would occur once this proposal was received by the county. Through this meeting we realized that the details of the proposal would be worked out by the county and the landowner.

The community will be tasked with attending meetings and overseeing the result. Our responsibility was to convey to the county that the community supports the process for them to negotiate with Maui Land & Pineapple Co. to secure the Honolua area.

We held four community meetings to share our "One Plan, One Pulse" presentation and the "Compromise for Conservation" proposal to gather community input and support. The mayor joined us for one meeting to answer questions on the government process. We found that a vast majority of the community supported the position to begin the process.

Based on a year and a half of work in the community and with the landowner, we respectfully submit this letter as an official request to have the County Council Policy Committee place on their very next agenda Policy Item 26 so the dialogue may begin between the Maui County Council and Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

Kahu David Kapaku is president of the Save Honolua Coalition. Richard "Dickie" Moon is a member of the Honolua Advisory Council.

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