I would like to thank the Planning Committee for deciding to continue the discussion of the effort to ban "Superstores" in Maui County.
At their final meeting, the Planning Committee decided to keep the issue of banning Superstores from our county alive by recommending that the new Planning Committee revisit the issue after the new council is sworn in.
The ordinance has been much discussed by residents and municipal officials alike, but feared dead until the PC's decision on Tuesday. The Maui Planning Commission has recommended that the ban's original language be simplified and based on a simple definition of 90,000 sq. ft. The Lanai and Molokai Planning Commissions, the Hana Advisory Committee, and the Cultural Resources Commission all recommended the approval of the ban based on the new changes. Hana and Lanai suggested that the "cap" be lowered to 75,000 sf. and 15,000 sf. respectively.
I applaud this measure to protect our local economy introduced by Riki Hokama, and hope that the new Planning Committee will move to make these changes and immediately put the new ordinance up for a vote as one of their first orders of business. It is clear that the community as a whole supports this type of ban, and it is needed to maintain our island culture, protect our local businesses in these tough economic times, and needs to happen before another big box store tries to move here.
Studies show that big box stores crush small businesses, increase congestion, create sprawl, and reduce net tax revenues by replacing good paying jobs with bad, and denying their employees medical insurance. In a time when we should be focusing on local and environmentally sustainable development solutions, big-box stores are the wrong way to go.
Again, thanks to the Planning Committee for their insight and forward thinking decision and we hope the new Council will follow suit and finish the job.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Developer a thief in the night
While most of Maui County’s hardworking people were sleeping, Dowling produced a letter, purportedly by one of the investors in the project –stating that a requirement to build workforce housing would put the project’s financing in jeopardy. These investors stand to bring in over SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS and Mr. Dowling wants us to believe that the financing allotted for the project is threatened by building a few homes for our residents.
The condition proposed is one that would safeguard the building of at least 400 homes for our residents. It had already been discussed and approved the previous day. Five traitorous council members betrayed the very people they represent by not supporting Danny Mateo’s workforce housing ordinance!
Why would five council members allow some unknown, unverified, unsubstantiated claim made by an outside investor –whose only interest in this project is the 7 billion dollars in sales he stands to make, convince them to sell out their own people?
Your actions are traitorous to your people, the residents of Maui, and to your brethren.
The hardworking people of Maui came to council chambers and testified for Mr. Dowling. Then, in the middle of the night, he sneaks into the council chambers and with the help of our “representatives,” stabs these hardworking people in the back.
To these hardworking people who are concerned about the construction of workforce housing, ask Mr. Dowling –how many homes is he willing to build for us, the residents of this island, the people who will feel the real impact of this development when he and the investors have made their money and left. Where and when is the workforce housing going to be built?
Every other detail of the new Makena Resort has been looked at, such as demolishing the Maui Prince Hotel and all of its restaurants. The public access we now enjoy –taking our keiki for a weekend at the hotel, or getting together with family for a Sunday brunch will be gone forever.
Moreover, they still haven’t addressed adequate and appropriate beach access for us! In fact, all of this will be replaced with a members-only club and a gated high security development designed to lock us out!
Nothing about this development is acceptable to our residents. I challenge the Dowling Company and their investors to put in writing exactly how many, at what time and where the homes addressed in the Workforce Housing Initiative will be built for our residents. This is the least they could do.
Please come to the council meeting on Dec 19 and ask your council members to protect our rights!
The condition proposed is one that would safeguard the building of at least 400 homes for our residents. It had already been discussed and approved the previous day. Five traitorous council members betrayed the very people they represent by not supporting Danny Mateo’s workforce housing ordinance!
Why would five council members allow some unknown, unverified, unsubstantiated claim made by an outside investor –whose only interest in this project is the 7 billion dollars in sales he stands to make, convince them to sell out their own people?
Your actions are traitorous to your people, the residents of Maui, and to your brethren.
The hardworking people of Maui came to council chambers and testified for Mr. Dowling. Then, in the middle of the night, he sneaks into the council chambers and with the help of our “representatives,” stabs these hardworking people in the back.
To these hardworking people who are concerned about the construction of workforce housing, ask Mr. Dowling –how many homes is he willing to build for us, the residents of this island, the people who will feel the real impact of this development when he and the investors have made their money and left. Where and when is the workforce housing going to be built?
Every other detail of the new Makena Resort has been looked at, such as demolishing the Maui Prince Hotel and all of its restaurants. The public access we now enjoy –taking our keiki for a weekend at the hotel, or getting together with family for a Sunday brunch will be gone forever.
Moreover, they still haven’t addressed adequate and appropriate beach access for us! In fact, all of this will be replaced with a members-only club and a gated high security development designed to lock us out!
Nothing about this development is acceptable to our residents. I challenge the Dowling Company and their investors to put in writing exactly how many, at what time and where the homes addressed in the Workforce Housing Initiative will be built for our residents. This is the least they could do.
Please come to the council meeting on Dec 19 and ask your council members to protect our rights!
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