Why Did Council Overrule Waianae Residents and Council Member?

Michael Levine/Civil Beat

KAPOLEI — A riddle, of sorts: If the overwhelming majority of community members testify in favor of a proposed action, and the City Council member representing that community agrees with them, how can a vote on the long-term vision for that community go the other way?

That's what dozens of Waianae Coast residents are left scratching their heads about, after the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday voted to approve the Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan with the controversial "purple spot" of light industrial zoning in Lualualei Valley inside it.

"This vote is just another indication of the way in which politics are done in Hawaii," Marti Townsend, program director for KAHEA, the Hawaiian-environmental alliance, told Civil Beat after the 6-3 vote. She wiped tears from her eyes and paused to thank citizens who had taken hours out of their day to come to Kapolei Hale to testify.

"It's not transparent, it's not straightforward. The developers were not in the room today, they did not testify," Townsend said. "People testifying in support of the purple spot were far outnumbered by those opposed to the purple spot. And yet the purple spot lives. And that's because there are puppet masters outside of the Council hearing room that are pulling strings, pushing the Council to vote."

The decision is important to the Waianae community, but it also sheds light on how similar processes will play out around the island throughout 2012. This year will be a year of community planning as six of Oahu's eight regional planning documents are up for review.

Townsend chalked the vote up to campaign contributions from absentee developers, but there was another key player in the room Wednesday. Planning Director David Tanoue has been accused by opponents of sidestepping the public process and ignoring the community's will when he inserted the purple spot late during the planning process.

Loading