12-27-2013, 11:49 AM
Some residents who have come to Wa‘a wa‘a may not know that the land is classified as a State Agricultural District and a County Agricultural Zone and that they pay less taxes because of that classification. They then start complaining, complaining about bumps on the historic road that was once called the Old Puna Trail, taking pictures of potholes to show to officials, complaining about driving new cars on the road, complaining about their taxes not giving them the infrastructure that the higher Urban District taxes provide for.
Some residents may not realize that they could have a working farm, goats and roosters, kennels, an orchid farm that sprays toxic chemicals, a papaya processing plant, and an aquaculture farm next to their house. Just to name a few of the permitted uses. It seems the idea of some, not by any means all, of the people who want the road paved is to make the Agricultural District look like a rich little suburb and paving the road is one step to getting there. This is agricultural land and it should remain affordable to small farmers.
You somehow made the choice to live off of a dirt road, maybe you have not considered the reasons most other people made this choice. Not only is the Government Beach Road an historic roadway that takes one back to the feeling of what Hawai‘i was once like, it is unique, it is relaxed, it causes one to breath a sigh of relief when coming back from town, and makes one slow down and appreciate what is still here. One of the many travelers who wrote about the beauty and significance of this road was King Kalakaua in the late 1800's. He traveled down this road and called the area a small historic district, thankfully, so far it still pretty much is. It has Hawaiian cultural significance and current cultural importance as well. We once had a meeting regarding the preservation of the Beach Road that a friend who was a planner was invited to. The first question she asked was "Where do you talk to your neighbors most?" We all chimed in, "The Beach Road". Why? Because you can stop and pull over and talk to people in cars, on horses, on bikes, people walking, people walking dogs, people running. It is a safe multi use road which is remarkable in this day and age. I don't know if you have noticed but dirt roads have a kind of humanizing effect in that people wave to even strangers as they pass, not so on busy paved roads. So sorry you cannot seem to appreciate one of the few places left like this and don't seem to be able to live with a few bumps for a few months on one very small section of your commute in order to keep it this way.
You seem to have really picked the wrong place to live. There were so many other places you could have chosen that would have been right for you. Why don't you consider moving to a place where you can be happy and that is more convenient for you instead of trying to make this unique place like everywhere else?
Sherry Palmer
PS
Notes:
Seems like about every couple of years public works has a meeting and every time the results are about the same, 80 some percent do not want the road paved.
It is a County road.
The County currently maintains the road twice a year.
This is a very safe road as the natural speed bumps keep the speed down.
Ambulances and police have never had a problem coming here.
Some residents may not realize that they could have a working farm, goats and roosters, kennels, an orchid farm that sprays toxic chemicals, a papaya processing plant, and an aquaculture farm next to their house. Just to name a few of the permitted uses. It seems the idea of some, not by any means all, of the people who want the road paved is to make the Agricultural District look like a rich little suburb and paving the road is one step to getting there. This is agricultural land and it should remain affordable to small farmers.
You somehow made the choice to live off of a dirt road, maybe you have not considered the reasons most other people made this choice. Not only is the Government Beach Road an historic roadway that takes one back to the feeling of what Hawai‘i was once like, it is unique, it is relaxed, it causes one to breath a sigh of relief when coming back from town, and makes one slow down and appreciate what is still here. One of the many travelers who wrote about the beauty and significance of this road was King Kalakaua in the late 1800's. He traveled down this road and called the area a small historic district, thankfully, so far it still pretty much is. It has Hawaiian cultural significance and current cultural importance as well. We once had a meeting regarding the preservation of the Beach Road that a friend who was a planner was invited to. The first question she asked was "Where do you talk to your neighbors most?" We all chimed in, "The Beach Road". Why? Because you can stop and pull over and talk to people in cars, on horses, on bikes, people walking, people walking dogs, people running. It is a safe multi use road which is remarkable in this day and age. I don't know if you have noticed but dirt roads have a kind of humanizing effect in that people wave to even strangers as they pass, not so on busy paved roads. So sorry you cannot seem to appreciate one of the few places left like this and don't seem to be able to live with a few bumps for a few months on one very small section of your commute in order to keep it this way.
You seem to have really picked the wrong place to live. There were so many other places you could have chosen that would have been right for you. Why don't you consider moving to a place where you can be happy and that is more convenient for you instead of trying to make this unique place like everywhere else?
Sherry Palmer
PS
Notes:
Seems like about every couple of years public works has a meeting and every time the results are about the same, 80 some percent do not want the road paved.
It is a County road.
The County currently maintains the road twice a year.
This is a very safe road as the natural speed bumps keep the speed down.
Ambulances and police have never had a problem coming here.