04-18-2012, 04:50 AM
By Graham Ellis
On March 16th the director of County Planning sent a letter to SPACE stating that due to complaints regarding the Bellyacres 25th anniversary celebration and the Farmers Market she had suspended the existing Special Permit and ordered SPACE to cease and desist all non agricultural activities. This meant closing down the HAAS Public Charter School, the SPACE Farmers Market, and all performance arts programs held at SPACE. We were also ordered to attend the May 3rd Windward Planning Commission meeting to answer to the complaints.
The SPACE Board decided to continue our community service activities. We decided not to evict 36 school kids and their team of dedicated teachers, to keep the Farmers Market open to ensure that our community did not suffer from the loss of essential economic and social benefits, and to keep running our HICCUP circus performance arts programs that have served large numbers of children and adults in lower Puna for over 20 years.
The Planning Director sent us another letter on April 5th (it arrived here on April 8th) correcting her previous order by informing us that activities allowed under our existing permit could continue until May 3rd, but that we had to close down the SPACE Farmers Market.
Our Farmers Market, our public charter school, our performance arts programs and related performances are currently attended and supported by hundreds of community residents. This is pure people driven, rather than permit driven development. This is the people telling the government what services they want in their neighborhoods and providing them for themselves. SPACE has had no financial assistance from the county or state administrations, yet provides more services for more residents than the Pahoa Community Center, which costs taxpayers $11,000 monthly.
On May 3rd we will be asking the Windward Planning commission to allow us to provide these community services legally and with their blessing, and hopefully we can start working more co-operatively with the experienced and skilled county work force hired to serve the public. We could really use their professional talents.
Members of SPACE along with the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance will also be asking the Planning Commission to consider establishing new guidelines for permitting grass roots community development organizations. As a Special Permit holder for over ten years l will testify in detail regarding the many ways that the permit process is simply not simple and how it prevents community building instead of promoting it. The best measure of this is the fact that very few grass roots non profit community organizations have ever filed to obtain a Special Permit for the activities they provide. We know of many community groups providing essential services without permits that exist in fear of censure and fines from our Planning Department. This is no way to promote community development.
In East Hawaii, I am only aware of Kalani Honua and SPACE that have actually obtained Special Permits, and look at the troubles that both these organizations have had in recent years. It is no wonder that other community groups prefer to stay underground and illegal when they see the problems that we have to deal with trying to operate within the existing legal framework.
The biggest weakness of the present Special Permit process is that enforcement is complaint driven. The Planning Department has a process and procedures for receiving, recording, and investigating complaints. They do not have any criteria for determining if complaints are frivolous, fraudulent, vengeful, or simply the result of a neighborly dispute. The accuser does not even need to live in the State of Hawaii and remains anonymous, while the defendant is assumed guilty from the filing of the complaint until a determination is made by the Planning Director. The formal procedure to respond to the Director’s decision regarding frequently undefined, unsubstantiated accusations, is to appear before the Planning Commission.
After 25 years of living in a community of people, a community that is thriving and healthy, l am often asked what is the key to developing a supportive community. My answer is: trust, and learning to trust one another. Trust comes from compassion, not from fear, fighting, or frivolous complaints. Trust is destroyed by the present climate of fear and suspicion created by the complaint driven system of code compliance. This precludes the possibilities for building neighborliness through open and honest dialogue where compassion and conciliation can guide our process.
Community groups offering facilities or activities without a permit exist in fear of having a complaint filed with the Planning Department and an investigation that could lead to fines and penalties. This fear prevents openness and trust building amongst community members, it prevents healthy community development, the core, the strength and the goal of our society. Many of us believe that it is time for a new Community Organization permit with a new process for compliance that encourages mediation and ho’oponopono techniques rather than anonymous complaints.
The methodology of most grass roots organizations today centers around sustainable living practices. At SPACE we have worked extremely hard to make our operations sustainable and energy efficient. We are one of the most advanced models of self sustainable community arts facilities in the United States, but many of our sustainability activities have never before been presented to the planning authorities. We are pioneering innovative and creative practices that make community based, community run facilities viable. We hope to serve as a demonstration model for other organizations, but we can only do that by gaining legal status from the County.
If sustainability as a goal has any meaning at all, it must embrace community-based, community-run efforts to strengthen the social and economic fabric of neighborhoods. One solution is for government agencies to be flexible in their application of laws that were created for a different world, or to adopt new laws.
An island wide group that is promoting new laws is the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance ( HYPERLINK “http://www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org” www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org) . HSCA is proposing that the County of Hawaii review and replace the Special Permit process community non profit groups have to undertake if they want to legally provide facilities and programs within their own communities. HASC has a membership of over 400 residents and represents dozens of island wide groups of all sizes serving their communities, but acting outside county or state ordinances. Many of them intentionally keep a very low profile, and most have their energy and successes stifled by the fear of official retribution. This handicaps many sustainable community initiatives to the detriment of us all.
Neighborhoods providing non profit services for themselves benefit everyone, especially taxpayers who are saved the costs of providing these services.
Sustainable living and community development are both highly valued at all levels of the County Administration on this island. We therefore expect to see our elected officials eagerly supporting proposals to remove the obstacles and challenges that currently deter small community groups from operating legally.
If you support this initiative, please attend the Windward Planning Commission Meeting on May 3rd 10am at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo.
(Graham Ellis is the director of Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education.)
On March 16th the director of County Planning sent a letter to SPACE stating that due to complaints regarding the Bellyacres 25th anniversary celebration and the Farmers Market she had suspended the existing Special Permit and ordered SPACE to cease and desist all non agricultural activities. This meant closing down the HAAS Public Charter School, the SPACE Farmers Market, and all performance arts programs held at SPACE. We were also ordered to attend the May 3rd Windward Planning Commission meeting to answer to the complaints.
The SPACE Board decided to continue our community service activities. We decided not to evict 36 school kids and their team of dedicated teachers, to keep the Farmers Market open to ensure that our community did not suffer from the loss of essential economic and social benefits, and to keep running our HICCUP circus performance arts programs that have served large numbers of children and adults in lower Puna for over 20 years.
The Planning Director sent us another letter on April 5th (it arrived here on April 8th) correcting her previous order by informing us that activities allowed under our existing permit could continue until May 3rd, but that we had to close down the SPACE Farmers Market.
Our Farmers Market, our public charter school, our performance arts programs and related performances are currently attended and supported by hundreds of community residents. This is pure people driven, rather than permit driven development. This is the people telling the government what services they want in their neighborhoods and providing them for themselves. SPACE has had no financial assistance from the county or state administrations, yet provides more services for more residents than the Pahoa Community Center, which costs taxpayers $11,000 monthly.
On May 3rd we will be asking the Windward Planning commission to allow us to provide these community services legally and with their blessing, and hopefully we can start working more co-operatively with the experienced and skilled county work force hired to serve the public. We could really use their professional talents.
Members of SPACE along with the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance will also be asking the Planning Commission to consider establishing new guidelines for permitting grass roots community development organizations. As a Special Permit holder for over ten years l will testify in detail regarding the many ways that the permit process is simply not simple and how it prevents community building instead of promoting it. The best measure of this is the fact that very few grass roots non profit community organizations have ever filed to obtain a Special Permit for the activities they provide. We know of many community groups providing essential services without permits that exist in fear of censure and fines from our Planning Department. This is no way to promote community development.
In East Hawaii, I am only aware of Kalani Honua and SPACE that have actually obtained Special Permits, and look at the troubles that both these organizations have had in recent years. It is no wonder that other community groups prefer to stay underground and illegal when they see the problems that we have to deal with trying to operate within the existing legal framework.
The biggest weakness of the present Special Permit process is that enforcement is complaint driven. The Planning Department has a process and procedures for receiving, recording, and investigating complaints. They do not have any criteria for determining if complaints are frivolous, fraudulent, vengeful, or simply the result of a neighborly dispute. The accuser does not even need to live in the State of Hawaii and remains anonymous, while the defendant is assumed guilty from the filing of the complaint until a determination is made by the Planning Director. The formal procedure to respond to the Director’s decision regarding frequently undefined, unsubstantiated accusations, is to appear before the Planning Commission.
After 25 years of living in a community of people, a community that is thriving and healthy, l am often asked what is the key to developing a supportive community. My answer is: trust, and learning to trust one another. Trust comes from compassion, not from fear, fighting, or frivolous complaints. Trust is destroyed by the present climate of fear and suspicion created by the complaint driven system of code compliance. This precludes the possibilities for building neighborliness through open and honest dialogue where compassion and conciliation can guide our process.
Community groups offering facilities or activities without a permit exist in fear of having a complaint filed with the Planning Department and an investigation that could lead to fines and penalties. This fear prevents openness and trust building amongst community members, it prevents healthy community development, the core, the strength and the goal of our society. Many of us believe that it is time for a new Community Organization permit with a new process for compliance that encourages mediation and ho’oponopono techniques rather than anonymous complaints.
The methodology of most grass roots organizations today centers around sustainable living practices. At SPACE we have worked extremely hard to make our operations sustainable and energy efficient. We are one of the most advanced models of self sustainable community arts facilities in the United States, but many of our sustainability activities have never before been presented to the planning authorities. We are pioneering innovative and creative practices that make community based, community run facilities viable. We hope to serve as a demonstration model for other organizations, but we can only do that by gaining legal status from the County.
If sustainability as a goal has any meaning at all, it must embrace community-based, community-run efforts to strengthen the social and economic fabric of neighborhoods. One solution is for government agencies to be flexible in their application of laws that were created for a different world, or to adopt new laws.
An island wide group that is promoting new laws is the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance ( HYPERLINK “http://www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org” www.hawaiisustainablecommunity.org) . HSCA is proposing that the County of Hawaii review and replace the Special Permit process community non profit groups have to undertake if they want to legally provide facilities and programs within their own communities. HASC has a membership of over 400 residents and represents dozens of island wide groups of all sizes serving their communities, but acting outside county or state ordinances. Many of them intentionally keep a very low profile, and most have their energy and successes stifled by the fear of official retribution. This handicaps many sustainable community initiatives to the detriment of us all.
Neighborhoods providing non profit services for themselves benefit everyone, especially taxpayers who are saved the costs of providing these services.
Sustainable living and community development are both highly valued at all levels of the County Administration on this island. We therefore expect to see our elected officials eagerly supporting proposals to remove the obstacles and challenges that currently deter small community groups from operating legally.
If you support this initiative, please attend the Windward Planning Commission Meeting on May 3rd 10am at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo.
(Graham Ellis is the director of Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education.)
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