06-05-2010, 03:44 AM
It was a rather lightly attended meeting of the Planning Commission which took up Yoshimoto's Bill 194 and it's neatly packaged rewriting of the PCDP. The Planning Director had essentially rejected the Action Committee's work and endorsed the Chris Yuen slate of amendments to the PCDP.
Someone needs to point out to the administration that it has almost been two years since Chris Yuen had a county paycheck. Why are we still dealing with Chris Yuen stuff? Why does a former Planning Director appear to be at the helm? To his credit Chris Yuen hasn't injected himself into the current process - others are doing it for him. Using him in absentia? Seems so.
Anyway the bottom line is that the Planning Commission was not convinced by Planning Director Bobbie Jean Leithead-Todd and they seemed to grasp the simple but strenuously ignored fact that Bill 194 was a tactical bundle of 83 amendments which is too unwieldy and complex to be of practical value. So the council will take up Bill 194 sometime in the future with a negative recommendation from the Planning Commission.
I am pleased to report that our Planning Commission is largely comprised of community volunteers who can listen and think.
So now we will have to see what the council does with this mess.
As President of Friends of Puna's Future I can tell you that we support some amendment of the PCDP and have spent a lot of time on the subject. There are two reasons amending or attempting the amend the PCDP has taken so long.
The first reason has been Mayor Kenoi who nearly consumed a year in appointing the members to the PCDP Action Committee. When we said "Pass It Now, Amend It Later" we didn't mean this much later. We're ready.
The second reason has been the ham fisted manner in which large rafts of amendments tried to be forced into place as quickly as possible (56 amendments in four days with no time for public input in 2008) and most recently Yoshimoto's Bill 194 which tried to bundle 83 amendments into one document. Both of these attempts did their best to deprive the community of reasonable due process and smack of manipulation.
Now my advice for the powers that be in wanting to amend the PCDP is simple and practical.
1. Sit your asses down with the folks who wrote the PCDP and discuss things. This has not yet been done. Move the operation from the back room to the front room.
2. Separate the substantive amendments from the non-substantive amendments.
3. Whittle the proposed substantive amendments down and group them logically.
4. Package the amendments in perhaps five bills. Run the bills into council one at a time.
5. Invite the participation of the community and provide time and opportunity to read the stuff, understand it and testify.
Frankly the process has not benefited from the efforts of consultants, "professionals" and back room politics. But what's new?
Someone needs to point out to the administration that it has almost been two years since Chris Yuen had a county paycheck. Why are we still dealing with Chris Yuen stuff? Why does a former Planning Director appear to be at the helm? To his credit Chris Yuen hasn't injected himself into the current process - others are doing it for him. Using him in absentia? Seems so.
Anyway the bottom line is that the Planning Commission was not convinced by Planning Director Bobbie Jean Leithead-Todd and they seemed to grasp the simple but strenuously ignored fact that Bill 194 was a tactical bundle of 83 amendments which is too unwieldy and complex to be of practical value. So the council will take up Bill 194 sometime in the future with a negative recommendation from the Planning Commission.
I am pleased to report that our Planning Commission is largely comprised of community volunteers who can listen and think.
So now we will have to see what the council does with this mess.
As President of Friends of Puna's Future I can tell you that we support some amendment of the PCDP and have spent a lot of time on the subject. There are two reasons amending or attempting the amend the PCDP has taken so long.
The first reason has been Mayor Kenoi who nearly consumed a year in appointing the members to the PCDP Action Committee. When we said "Pass It Now, Amend It Later" we didn't mean this much later. We're ready.
The second reason has been the ham fisted manner in which large rafts of amendments tried to be forced into place as quickly as possible (56 amendments in four days with no time for public input in 2008) and most recently Yoshimoto's Bill 194 which tried to bundle 83 amendments into one document. Both of these attempts did their best to deprive the community of reasonable due process and smack of manipulation.
Now my advice for the powers that be in wanting to amend the PCDP is simple and practical.
1. Sit your asses down with the folks who wrote the PCDP and discuss things. This has not yet been done. Move the operation from the back room to the front room.
2. Separate the substantive amendments from the non-substantive amendments.
3. Whittle the proposed substantive amendments down and group them logically.
4. Package the amendments in perhaps five bills. Run the bills into council one at a time.
5. Invite the participation of the community and provide time and opportunity to read the stuff, understand it and testify.
Frankly the process has not benefited from the efforts of consultants, "professionals" and back room politics. But what's new?
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
Punaweb moderator