Naeole agrees to discuss Puna CDP
Friday, July 18, 2008 at 04:24PM It's not over till it's over. After stiff-arming community input over the Puna Community Development Plan, Fifth District Councilwoman Emily Naeole has reversed course again by agreeing to meet with the community over the Council's upcoming vote on the Puna CDP.
Naeole had indicated she would propose amendments to the PCDP at the Council's July 30 meeting, which angered proponents who claim that amendments would delay the plan's approval at least till next year, maybe forever. Naeole had also indicated to the Friends of Puna's Future that she was not interested in talking about her recent proposals with people in Puna, many of whom spent nearly three years working on the plan.
Today FoPF President Rob Tucker said Naeole announced she will meet with the community after all, 6-8 p.m., Friday, July 25, at Pahoa Community Center. "We need to deliver our message clearly and with respect," Tucker said. "This is an important moment in PCDP."
FoFP wants the Council to pass the Puna CDP as written now, since there is a narrow time frame for getting it done before a new Council and mayor are elected and seated. Any necessary amendments could be worked on while the plan is in effect, proponents say.
But business and development interests who oppose the PCDP, because it knocks out some development rights already in the county's General Plan, want to gut the plan now or delay it until the new mayor and Council are on board, hoping the elections will result in a council and administration more favorable to opponents.
Being the Council member who represents the district affected most by the plan, Naeole's vote could be key to its success or failure. But Naeole's mercurial mind is tough to fathom sometimes. Like some Council watchers have noted, often it's best to be the last to speak to her about an issue before a vote because the last argument she hears is often the one she finally goes with.
Should be an interesting public meeting next Friday.
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Reader Comments (2)
Some of Emily's amendments concern clauses in the PCDP that were inserted by individual SC members. These personal perspectives should not have been put into the final draft. It is to Emily's credit that she spotted those anomalies.
I am not confident that sending the amendments right back to the same Steering Committee is the best route. The Implementation Phase of the PCDP, which starts the minute the council passes the PCDP into law, launches a new effort called the Action Committee. This group will also be appointed by the mayor but we do expect to see new faces there and, hopefully, more diversity such as Councilwoman Naeole promotes.
The July 25th Pahoa meeting will, we expect, provide a reasonable measure of communication so the only real point of departure now between the District 5 office and Friends of Puna's Future is timing.
The timing is important because there is a real chance that if the Final Draft gets jammed up at the Steering Committee level again or if even more amendments are proposed along the way, that this plan will fail to pass this council. That would be a real tragedy and disservice to Puna.
When Councilwoman Naeole’s worthwhile amendments come before the Action Committee we look forward to being there in support.
Rob Tucker
Friends of Puna's Future