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While you are paying all this attention to the D word in Puna Community Development Plan, you are totally ignoring the much more important C word. The plan is the result of 1,300 people inputting during the course of over 30 meetings, and then distilled by a Steering Committee of volunteer Puna activists. Politicians did not make the plan. Developers did not make the plan.
The plan deals with things like MANAGING GROWTH by creating village centers (there are localized groups working on the planning for these centers in Volcano, Mt. View, Pahoa and coastal Puna under the umbrella of the plan), land use patterns, agricultural development, public services, social services, parks, housing, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The MALAMA I KA AINA section deals with preservation and respect for natural and cultural resources such as cultural and historic sites, forest lands, unique geological features, scenic resources, drainage, aquifers and coastal water quality.
And the plan also deals with sustainable approaches to TRANSPORTATION to support the goals of the above two themes. The actions these themes address are mass transit and alternative travel modes, travel demand management and roadway connectivity and safety.
If you folks will read over the previous posts, you should realize that your expectations of the plan and its kuleana do not line up with what the plan is really all about. Once again, I urge you to read it and see for yourselves.
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PCDP clearly identifies "village centers", yet no growth has actually happened in many of these areas in the (approximately) four years since the PCDP was ratified, which means there must be other factors -- obviously, some of us (notably myself) are simply not smart enough (or wealthy enough) to understand how planning actually works (or perhaps "doesn't work").
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For the Village Center concept to work, there has to be a coordinated approach that involves appropriate zoning and investors willing to take the risk to build something or put a business in an existing building. Zoning changes in Puna can be a politically charged mess. To get zoning changes, one must deal with the Windward Planning Commission, the County Planning Department, and/or the County Council. All of those entities have processes for input from citizens, which is appropriate. Where it gets tricky is the level of importance given to various types of input. In some cases, neighbors have understandably objected to the negative impact of proposed projects from their point of view. (It's easy to yell "NIMBY," but harder to separate NIMBY from really damaging impacts.) In other cases, I have seen at least one fairly transparent effort to stifle business competition succeed via this zoning change citizen input process. Not all input from interested parties is treated equally.
This is the point where cogent political leadership and a bit of vision come into the picture. Having a County Council representative who understands this process and has the political vision to facilitate the right zoning changes is of paramount importance if the Village Center concept is ever going to get off the pages of the PCDP and into the subdivisions of Puna. The CDP Action Committee, well-intentioned as it is, can't do it. Only better political leadership will fix this, and I don't see it coming from Fred Blas.
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Excellent summary, thank you -- in other words, it's about like I thought: development has been politicized to the extent that it doesn't directly benefit the taxpayers.
It seems to be "worse" in places that rely on "tourism" as part of their tax base.
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Kalakoa: you say that no growth has actually happened in the areas identified as village centers. Have you been to Pahoa lately? There are currently two large parcels that have been cleared for development. And other, not yet cleared, that is looking for an 'anchor' tenant. Part of the delay was due to the fact that our previous councilperson had amended the plan to allow development along the bypass, while leaving the center of Pahoa out side of the village center area. The planning director has had to go through a convoluted process to change it so that the bypass lands stay in intensive ag, all of Pahoa is village center, and the dump road is where light industrial will be. This involved changing the State Land Use (LUPAG) map and then amending the CDP. All time-consuming processes. Meanwhile, many businesses were waiting for the process to run its course. You will soon see some massive movement, I think.
Regarding the other village center areas, this all depends on warm community bodies creating the plans for each area. Volcano has been at it for a while, Mt. View and coastal Puna are just starting. Some communities do not want village centers in their area, and so nothing is being done there. The CDP does not force village centers on a community. If you get involved yourself, you can help pick up the pace. If you come to an Action Committee meeting you can hear the status reports of these groups and actually talk to the people who are working on their village center plans, learn where they're at, what obstacles they are facing, and how you can help.
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At the risk of picking nits, Pahoa is hardly a "village".
The "no development" model actually favors Amazon, as long as you have some way to cook for yourself, and that seems to be how "the community" wants it here.
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At the risk of beating a dead horse: Pearl's lasted longer than two years, and they provided real jobs and paid real money taxes until they gave up the fight. I've never quite understood the value proposition of using (our) tax dollars to fund a government agency that actively drives jobs and money out of its economy.
I would guess the biggest components of the "legal" economy are tourism, the university, and retirement real estate. It's a borderline unsustainable mix, and tends to warp the overall marketspace, so your tax base consists mostly of low-wage service-sector jobs.
A PGV-fired light manufacturing district would probably help, or an islandwide fiber network that made real broadband readily available, but these aren't "shiny" enough. Obviously a new event center (in Hilo, so you can drive to it) is a better investment of our tax dollars.
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@pahoated:
People as individuals and business itself have to have sufficient and stable incomes to make a viable market.
There must be both a general social agreement and a legal framework to allow a market to exist and function
properly and well.
Society may have at times different and changing needs from, of or within a market.
What do participants on this blog think about the condition of our economy and our County and State
"markets"? [?] [8D]or[}  ]or[  ]or[8]
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What would lead a company to relocate/start up here with the condition that you have to treat all businesses the same (equal law) so no selective tax breaks, or deregulation?
I think relaxing of the regulations / taxes across the board for businesses would assist in relocation. Texas is considered one of the most business friendly communities based in a large part on those two factors (and what I looked at when I owned a business) and they are sailing through this economic depression.
Personally I would like to see more manufacturing vs service jobs. I believe you get real economic long term growth when it's based on making something of value out of something of less value vs providing a transitionary service. I still get a kick that if you go to the farmer's market / hilo hotties all the "pacific island" nick nacks (grass skirts and coconut bras) are made in Bali. Like we don't have enough skilled people to produce that here, or that the regulations and taxes are soooooo overbearing it's cheaper to ship them in from across the ocean.
I do agree the NIMBY group will make sure to keep any progress limited.
"Government is good at one thing: it knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, 'See, if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk." - Harry Browne
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Found this video, I thought it was very interesting take on how to "develop" an economic area. Had some things I hadn't thought of before and a lot to think about more in depth.
http://youtu.be/chXsLtHqfdM
In regards to this thread: @ 10:38 "Planning is the kiss of death for entrepreneurship."
"Government is good at one thing: it knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, 'See, if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk." - Harry Browne
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