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Island Plan is outside the law
November 27, 2012 | 08:49 AM

***Maui's Charter Sec. 8-8.5(1): The general plan shall be developed after input from the state and county agencies and the general public, and shall be based on sound policy and information. And at (5): The community plans created and revised by the citizen advisory committees shall detail..and shall be to implement the policies of the general plan.

***The view that the Island Plan is part of the mix of plans became with planner Larry Summers's testimony July 31, 2006 when he said: "I would like to focus on three primary amendments for this ordinance....The first is to clarify that the General Plan is comprised of a Countywide Policy Plan, a Maui Island Plan and set of community plans."

Our Charter warrants the plans be based on sound policy. The Policy Plan has throughout evidence of protecting land and the Hawaiian people. The Island Plan does not even have greenways, certainly no leadership in protecting land and people. And further, by layering itself over the Communities before the people "review and recommend", the Plan and the process goes against our Charter. An ordinance can not change the Charter, only Charter amendments can do so.

The Island Plan is inconsistent with existing law. Maui’s General Plan 2.80B.030(c) states our laws must be “internally consistent with compatible vision, principles, goals, policies, implementing actions, and land use maps”. The Countywide Policy Plan (Ordinance 3732) states the goal such legislation is to “protect”, “preserve”, and “ultimately perpetuate the Hawaiian value of malama ‘aina”. Instead, the Island Plan negates this core value.

a) Article 8,Section 8 of Maui’s Charter, and Maui Countywide Policy Plan Ordinance 3732 guarantees that each of the nine “citizen advisory committee[s] is charged with reviewing and recommending revisions to the community plan” in its area. All Maui citizens have this right though Citizen Advisory Committees in the area in which they live before adoption of new boundaries.

b) HRS 226-58 requires changes in plans for development not violate county charters, and Maui’s Charter Article 8 is clear that we have the right to nine Citizen Advisory Committees.

c) Community Plans are defined in ordinance 1912, Bill No. 42 but the Island Plan and enabling legislation does not recognize this and their part of the process.

d) The Island Plan is a building plan and does not protect the environment but muddies it.

Countywide Policy Plan (Ordinance 3732) states the vision: “Maui County will be an innovative model of sustainable living” taking into consideration “the needs of the whole community…natural and cultural assets…to reflect the high value we place on our natural environment and our people”. Maui Policy Plan’s 1st stated key strategy is “protection of the natural environment”.

e) The Policy Plan (Objective 3, c) states that we evaluate development as to impacts on land, air, aquatic, and marine environments. How and where do we see that the General Plan Committee compared the Island Plan with existing Community Plans to insure the projected growth does is in line with density numbers these plans call forth?

f) HRS 205 identifies State Land Use District and designates urban, rural, agricultural, and conservation districts. The Maui Island Plan expands urban and rural use districts but fails to include an agricultural use boundary or a conservation boundary. The Plan is inconsistent with state land-use law. Further, Maui’s Policy Plan requires that we grow agricultural and conservation boundaries not ignore them.

g) The Island Plan has no plan to protect Hawaiian land rights.

Maui’s Policy Plan Objective ‘N’ states that future laws “reduce the affordable housing deficit”. The Island Plan does not.

h) Maui’s Policy Plan states that laws “facilitate the use of Kuleana lands by the descendants of Native Hawaiians who received those lands pursuant to the Kuleana Act of 1850”. The Island Plan violates this policy.

Consider these statements key to understanding how we got to this point, truly a crises in our local constitutional law.

** Members of the General Plan Advisory Committee pointed out issues with the developing Plan and the Sunshine Laws, and Corporation Council James Giroux stated on Sept. 18, 2008: “Nobody knows what we are doing today. Nobody has gone this far”, concluding the process is “on the galactic edge of planning”. What this means is that the Plan is outside the law.

** Council Chair Mateo stated about this fact citing our law: “The Community Plan shall implement the Maui Island Plan for projects and issues falling within this community”. That, for me, causes a lot of alarm because I was always of the impression that the community�"the communities really should be the driver….I already see conflict from the get-go….I think we’re doing it backwards. I think Community Plans should have been done first.” (March 15, 2012)

** General Plan Committee Chair Baisa responded: “Well said, Chair. I have said the same thing myself….We find ourselves where we’re at. After all this energy, time and money and�"that’s a question that I was asked the other day and I couldn’t answer….but I think we just gotta press on here and hope for the best.” We all agree, when it comes to human rights, hoping for the best legislation is a poor way to improve society. (March 15, 2012)

LLoyd Fischel
Ha'iku