 Aloha and good afternoon from Tintake, Hawaii. My name is James McKay as you can tell I'm not just in Unfortunately, or Matt. They are both on R and R for some good roots regeneration. So I'm taking over the farmer series for the next three weeks It's going to be a probably a little bit different more of a talk story setup situation Today's topic, we did have Keone Dudley who has been a long time community activist Trying to get the word out about a project that I've been surprised Not a lot of people in Hawaii have been following particularly on Oahu. It's a project called Hoa Peeli So it's going to be the largest ever one sort of occupant resident company Commercial residential development on the south side of the Oahu shore probably the only contiguous bit of open land That's some of the most productive farmland on Oahu today that remains in farming It's kind of landmark case and from my history in Hawaii. I've been here a bit over five years So I ended up moving out here from Arizona where I was very Aware of the urban sprawl and rapid development in Arizona When I came here, I just learning about Hawaii and the the ethics and the importance of agriculture I just assumed Hawaii was a bit ahead of the game in regards to land use development and responsible development And through interesting meetings meaning govern arochi and learning about some of the older land use practices That was definitely the case seems like recently the land use rules have changed to be much more pro development and less in Keeping the agricultural lands in production, which has impacts not just on food production, which is now also one of the Governor Ego's new Claims to where we want to take the state is more food production But also other things such as community traffic livability sprawl Water resources energy. So today's topic is really um going to be speaking with some some local Community members from the west side of Oahu and Hawaii So with us we have marx or welcome to the show mark. Hello. Yeah, hello, and haley welcome to So these gentlemen live out west and as a lot of people Live that way and also have to commute into town for work It's a good part of your your your population out there And marx currently running for the house representative seat in seat 44 in whiney so a lot of his representatives are going to be impacted by this project which um Probably everyone out living out west has been tracking because it is going to impact their lifestyles and Cione was a great activist. I really wanted to thank him because um Off his own initiatives and his own passions for I think what's right and pono for hawai He really was fighting this battle for the best of what I consider is the right thing So we we probably have a biased board. Unfortunately. We don't have yeah Horton who is the developer in this situation sitting at the table But I heard enough of their rhetoric that it's really about housing and food and jobs And the the foods part definitely was kind of a token thing. I felt about that so um They I'd love for a perspective from sort of the west side of what your guys take away This this project was in the supreme court last year And uh cure and dr. Dudley was on the show about a year ago So I just wanted to have kind of a uh a follow-up And we actually he sent us a photo. I'm not sure if we can get to that one But so we're at the point now where they've broken ground on the project So the the supreme court in hawai did rule that uh, this project is going to go ahead It's you know, it's a 20-year project there. So, you know I have the stat stat here. I apologize. I didn't learn them all if I happen Um, Keone has always but it's it's you know, 1554 acres There's a 4.6 billion dollar project. So this is the thank you The latest groundbreaking with all the political leaders that were involved in in this kind of project So, um Like from from your your guys perspective now that this is actually a done deal and going ahead What would say be some of your Your key concerns Well from a neighborhood board aspect, you know, um as the neighborhood board chair of y and i We actually stood with dr. Dudley. Um, he's actually a good friend of ours. He came out and he had Shared with us his idea for a resolution and his resolution was to try and prevent This development as well as some other Mega developments that we had coming on to the word oahu. Well, actually it was island wide. It would be imposed but what it would do was Work with dpp to actually put an end to permitting for any kind of development Um On the y and i neighborhood board what we had done through my housing committee was adopted our own set of rules, which would be To stop development issuing of the permitting But to allow for with an exception to the Department of Hawaiian homelands because you know, we strongly believe coming from the largest Hawaiian community in the world At 63 that we still need to keep good on our promise. Well, this thing needs to keep good as well as the department of interior to Fulfill their obligation to our Hawaiian people and that would be for providing hide housing through the Department of Hawaiian homelands so Yeah, it was something that we actually stood behind and our position being multiple reasons, you know from Of course, there's a traffic because this is now the corridor into the y night coast That you're proposing to put 70 000 new drivers on the road at and as you know We already have a traffic dilemma out there on the coast, you know fairington It's backed up on a daily basis. It used to just be weekdays now. It's saturdays sometimes even sundays We've done some proactive measures working with do t and That would be our contra floor that we actually started about a month ago now That's only a band-aid solution though. We don't have that secondary route in so Of course, it's one of our major concerns when you want to propose such a large project Before our residents even hit the coast, you know, that's definitely going to catch our attention So we we sat down we had serious talks with Dr. Dudley and we liked what he was proposing and we still we chose to stand with him We also stood with our brothers and sisters of the aloha aina movement and from their aspect they were Looking at more the cultural and environmental impact So, um, as you know, there's an issue with our native Pueo On the ever plains in Hono Uli Uli and I'll refer to it as Hono Uli Uli because you know Ho Pili is that's not what the name of that place is it's actual It's actually Hono Uli Uli. So it's probably what we should be calling. Yes. Yeah. Yeah We don't want to give it too much power with that Ho Pili name because Though they broke ground the fight's not over yet. So Well, so he had talked about and one of the things that kind of inspired me to sort of connect with him again was The possibility of doing an eminent domain Opportunity whereby the state itself would Offer fair market value to the aloha and take over the land and offer them You know, allowable profit for them to walk away leaving the land preserved In perpetuity for agriculture, but it would be owned by the state very similar to the Whitmore project So the state's obviously committed to that project up further north on Oahu So I don't know the viability of the state take on even more land Trying to stop what's already in action right now to me doesn't seem very probable. So yeah, well, there's yeah At this point it is it's kind of late in the game But you know not to say that we wouldn't stand behind it if they would entertain that idea I mean that we're looking at every option to try and put a stop to it because like you had mentioned The main issue behind it is You know, we need that ag land that land has produced so much food for us over the years We already have a water shortage, you know, yeah It's no it's no surprise to any of us that we're not getting the water that we're supposed to and What kind of trickles down from that is you know our loss of land because of it being such a limited resource And having all these new companies developers come in and propose all these mega projects You know housing is important, but I think it needs to be done in good It needs to be planned out way better. And I think I'm not a fan of these Resoning, you know rezoning especially when it comes to ag land rezoning for residential use I don't think that's the route we need to look at. Um, I think there's there's bigger land owners that we should be entertaining Offers with well, not we but they should be the state. Yeah, where the land isn't Fertile and productive and already in agriculture And it's bigger than just the state I mean we we have military the military has a lot of good land that you know We're even looking at because we work closely with our With our homeless on on the winery coast, you know, we have the winery Puhunua o winery, which is in the winery boat harbor And you know now we're talking about possibly getting a permanent lease at the harbor where we're at But we're also entertaining ideas that would mean Looking at other large land parcels and one of which we've actually narrowed down is a former military own lot That would was recently turned over to the state So DHHL now Manages that property and uh, they're actually listed it earlier this year. So, you know, if we can find deals like that I'm sure d r horten can too. So right going after our ag land. I don't think that's pono I think uh, there's other options out there and I'd like to Make me happier if they started looking into other more viable sources So in your position and running for the state right now would be things that you might want to be doing If you get elected or rally for support, like what sort of thing is could you see in the political system that might help What you want to see happen Be implemented. Um, definitely is, you know, because again going back to the large landowners here DHHL does have a lot of land that they lease out and Um, I don't want to see them having to give up the land because ultimately that land should be turned over to Our Hawaiian people for use for their, you know, residential housing through DHHL But there's other large parcels again. There's um Land that the military uses with lease agreements with the state I think Some of them are coming up Towards the end of their lease. So maybe before we go and renew their leases We could talk about possibly turning some of that land over I think it kind of goes hand in hand with the military downsizing with their boots on ground anyway So having this type of large Land ownership by the military or stewardship. I should call it because they actually don't own the land. Um, I think Talking with them about possible development on the land that they are occupying right now would be probably a better better option Yeah, yeah, and they're really not using the land for it's really just keeping it the future Which is really not a productive use of the land when we are at a crossroads right now So the the conference that was just in town a few weeks ago the ucn conference We're all about planted at the crossroads and it's kind of what I've long felt and hawaii is really on the cutting edge for that I think we have a tipping point now Or you know, and this is a key decision of do we keep land in ag or do we develop it? And for the reasons that are way too complicated and diverse as you know, we're not going to cover that Yeah A couple generations probably looking back and that's kind of really was the Sort of and I don't want to give up on the thing either But it seems like the ball is kind of going down that and I'd hate to say, you know 50 years looking back will be like, oh, I remember that show when you know, they're just broken ground But you know, hopefully that'll set the tone You know, there's all sorts of questions about no short development. Yes other islands too, which are just as important Yeah, and let's not forget about central awu. You know, they are They already got the permitting for hopefully, but they also have the permitting for core ridge So core ridge is also rich in natural resources there. And you know, that is something that they're definitely Gonna develop Like I said, the permitting process has already gone through and Yeah, that's gonna add additional traffic. I mean in a way Being west-siders we're kind of like, oh, okay. Now they get to deal with some of the traffic Yeah, share the love. Yeah. Anyway, we got to cut out for a quick word and we'll be back in a minute. Thank you Aloha, I'm Kaui Lucas host of Hawaii is my mainland Friday here on think tech Hawaii I also have a blog of the same day at kauilukas.com where you can see all of my past shows Join me this friday and every friday at 3 p.m. Aloha Hi, i'm keely akina president of the grassroot institute I'd love you to join us every week mondays at 2 o'clock p.m for a hana kakko. Let's work together We report every week on the good things going on in our state as well as the better things that can go on In the future. We have guests covering everything from the economy the government and society See you mondays on a hana kakko at 2 o'clock p.m. Until then i'm keely akina, aloha For a very healthy summer watch viva hawaii. We're giving you the best tips and with our best health coach here So viva health coach viva la comida saludable Aloha, welcome back. I'm james wakai with the hawaii food and farmer series on king take away You can join our hotline too or you put the uh, tweet out there if you're a twitter Or you can also call in on the number that's going to be on the screen in a second and um with me We have uh mark and um, sorry if you got your name again. Canole. That's right. All right. Love it and quiet, right? We are talking about the project called ho appeal or more appropriately Honourably, honourably and um, just to set the scene about what we're actually talking about with this 15 154 acre site that was purchased by d.r. Horton Over 10 years ago pretty well now and it's been a fight for them since 2009 to develop this land And it's just been ruled by the supreme court last december in 2015 that they can go ahead and build That the homes there over the next 20 years So we're kind of having a sort of a retroactive look back on the project as it starts So I want to put up on the screen just the uh, the overview of the map of where this project's at Just so we know the the gravity of the landmass that we're talking about here. So um, and as we've covered earlier in the show Everyone that's been over to whine eye or none of coolie either going there or coming back at the wrong time And there probably isn't a right time right now as mark has said it's busy But that's a lot of houses there. They'd be right next to the h1 That uh, and the studies at the land use committee that I actually testified against Stupidly enough because I thought I'd make a difference but after seeing the sprawl in arizona I just felt this is a really bad project for a while But they had a very compelling traffic studies to prove that the traffic is going to get really bad on h1 So that's going to basically just cause you know, even though it's not flowing now really anyway A huge bottleneck for all the commuters there, but more importantly that that landmass right now has some of the most productive Farmland that is producing quite a high percentage of food for a while So, you know, a lot of the arguments we heard or you know, why can't we just Grow food on the big island because they have all the land but you know that that doesn't help in my mind every island Should be coming as self independent as possible And we should be growing as much food by local people local employment for local people That's kind of the goal. So we've kind of seen this kind of development Tried like further out west and there's some Sort of not of this scale. Obviously. This is the biggest project that has actually been Uh permitted but also more importantly has gone through the land use committee and had the rezoning From agriculture land to residential land. So that's kind of set a very dangerous precedent in my mind of going ahead, but so, um Adelaide you in maca, we've seen some similar kind of Development sort of proposed and go forward go back How's the community kind of reacted there and what's been the results? Definitely not too happy about it Because well as like mark was saying earlier about the traffic problem and stuff like that and these guys, you know They don't live out there So they can go plan all you like look at paperwork and plan this plan that but We actually lived there and we got to deal with everything every day, you know, leaving y night and uh, you know Coming back home and stuff like that. Fortunately, uh, for me as I'm an artist So I can just drop off my artwork or have somebody come pick them up and sell them in a store just send me the check uh But yeah, I feel for everybody because I remember back in the days when I was a carpenter and stuff like that I was already fighting a lot of traffic and nowadays it's been getting worse of a maca valley Uh, I think we look at more development since you tore down the maca charitain country club And yes, we're pretty much trying to keep up with all that stuff and it Uh, I'm going to be developing coming all the way down to farrington highway from uh, the maca valley towers Stuff like that. So it'll be a lot more increased Traffic trash and water use stuff like that. Uh, probably a lot more crime Stuff like that, which we don't want we when I people pretty pretty much a tight knit community Especially, you know, like mark said earlier with a you know, largest Hawaiian community in the world and so Yeah, we have really have to protect our resources and uh, hono woolly woolly is one of them Definitely into sustainability Because I know we cannot eat money. Can I eat concrete? Can I eat houses? You know, only you guys have benefits from eating houses, uh the termites Uh, but And I guess really guys that you know into development They just look at you know stuff and I know there's guys pretty much, you know behind the scenes You know looking at raw land stuff like that and you guys sit down and talk sorry But you know creating jobs all kinds of different things like your projects to can develop But they don't look at long term and and what kind of impact it's going to have, you know Communities just think about dollars and sense and stuff like that And they're not really looking at how we supposed to adjust to life because these guys You know imposing all these different things on us development and now, you know, like I know across colina I think the chinese bought I think 600 acres or something up there and uh, hey, what they're going to do with all that land You know, so we really get problem with colina only one way in one way out of whine eye so actually been working on uh with some high school students and uh Taking over some places up at the whine valley that we know we can and because it's Hawaiian homeland So we're going to actually use some of this land that nobody using because we have sort of like semi-dry semi-dry river beds So It has it has enough moisture like that So we clean up the place and divert water and make low ease and whatever ground is all, you know The lepo is all nice and moist We'll plant huli and stuff like that back to production and work with our kids and Because well, it's part of a rice and also part of a trying to acquire water rice back Which is actually is our water and try to get the water water supply to share our water And So we can feed ourselves feed all people, you know next generation So pretty much making some colina moves and open that up for you know Possibilities looking on long term. You're like hence the name. Why am I why is water? Yeah, an eye is a mullet Uh, I never seen water all mullet in a long time. Yeah, since my younger days and stuff like that So I like to see uh the nice change and bring back the balance, you know ecosystem as part of my job is konigiki and uh mark also is the uh, ahupa rep and uh Moku rep so we have actually a structure so each ahupa I have a representative to work with their people in their community sort of like I guess like, you know I guess most Polynesian style whatever you're the talking chief and they work with their village You know their people and you know come to our how moku Council and talk about you know issues and concerns and Look at you know how we can try to deal with all this the invasion because you know Cost of living is not going to go down. They're always talking about you know helping the homeless and stuff like that But when we're trying at the boat harbor guys would donate I try to donate roll-offs to deal with the trash issues Oh, we need a special permit. Yeah. Oh, wow. He means why we need permit. We're doing your job You know cleaning up the community and trying to help the homeless stuff like that They claim they're helping but they're not helping I think you got some good points there because uh You know that if you can control Your homeless problem if you want to call it that in your own community that way on DHL land with local Smaller housing companies that can partner with DHL to create these environments that are going to be appropriate and suitable Plus factor in food areas as well and that to me is the missed opportunity Which was kind of the title of this was like do we have to really choose between houses and food? Really we can't afford to choose. We should have both. We must mandate both in fact And that's really kind of the beauty of the Hawaiian legacy and history is that they've They've they've been able to do that over generations thousands of years You don't sacrifice one for the other Because it is short term and that's kind of the key is that the you know It's a mainland car company and that what I saw in the plans for The development is reminded me of arizona and I'm like, how could they do that here? Like all places so the impact on agriculture and food is directly tied to land of water use as well And my mind is it's it's sacrificing one for the other, which is is very dangerous right and from a cultural aspect, you know historically Once the ahupua system was put in place, you know a long time ago Um, we we as Hawaiians, you know Polynesians you see this throughout Polynesians Where the the people of the land they know how to work with nature and not develop our nature and you know Working against nature. So that's what we're proposing We're actually trying to come in and ultimately establish our ahupua again reestablish it because they're there and bring back the balance Yeah, bring by the ecosystem. Yeah, and it's a vital part is having our food You know again going back to the choice between houses and food. It doesn't need to come down to that We can have both there can be balance It's just you got to do it right and they probably don't want to hear this But it just takes better planning and you got to take into consideration There's profits for being big companies That's why I'm really glad that the lingual and uh Avercromby actually created this law it's built to 88 that actually empowers us Hawaiians and actually uh Kumi John Kremikawa of Molukai actually kind of came up with this concept Called the Keoli so he took like eight strands of uh color or cordage and he braided all the strands together So, you know the concept or philosophy about you know, if you one arrow easy to break them But if you get you know, 10 arrows, whatever How to break them? Yeah, so the same thing with the Keoli concept is that now we get all the eight strands. So all of some of my practitioners we work together But that's only island wide. I'm looking at not only the island the poles or Kunikis from the different islands uh work together But also the Kunikis on each island work together and share our resources and Experiences, you know collaborating stuff like that because some some places, you know You know, Hawaiians let it really unique not every place is the same Yeah, you cannot use the rubber stamp Which is why it is important to develop from a local perspective because every area is going to be different So, you know battles like for sovereignty and for you know, keeping our land rights and our water rights stuff like that So a lot of us guys that really has experience On you know, different things and so we can kind of share and grow together and stuff like that as a people to protect what is rightfully ours And and our resources, but we're not stingy. We'll feed everybody, you know So and the thing is, you know, what I do is, you know, work with you know, any kind of race any ethnic group Because actually the main thing is teaching people Values of our kupuna and philosophy about kupuna because that's where it's at So once you learn that you're mad at then, you know, we're all the same. We're all on the same page So we have a couple minutes left So I want to wrap up just on maybe a technical question first is something you've been talking about is any Idea if the water that's going to be used for this development should have gone over to the west side Is that still is that part of that what might be going on? Well, actually, it's funny. He said that because I heard a rumor. I don't know how true it is But they come out of yeah But it did come out of bws and what it was was a bit of information We had says that once hopili has done a lot of our water that's already being diverted to you know Other parts of oahu Is going to actually yeah, we're they're planning on actually diverting even more water to feed the other planes So, you know, again, why and I is going to carry the heavy burden of Not just taking the trash and the homeless, but also providing water and at some point, you know, it's going to burst at the seams Yeah, yeah, it's something we really got on my collar. We got to keep an eye on that because I think that's the key thing Right. So the baseline is what it is today. It's it hasn't got better with the increased population anyway But if we have a lot more people there soon You know, I hate to say live by our mistakes But so what's what's human is really good at doing rather than being wise and learning from our elders and listening to them But you know, we'll see where it's at. So any conclusion I'll be with your race ahead and You've got a big vote coming up in a month. Yes So we're about a month out. Um, we do have a couple events if I can make some announcements So tomorrow night if you want to come out and uh, get to hear a little bit more about our platform and engage me in conversation We're having for our west-siders or even if you're coming from other parts of the island We'll be at foster realty on frankin highway and winy We'll be there from seven to probably about 8 39 o'clock and it's a meet the candidate event That they're putting on for me over there. Also saturday tune in to olelo channel 53. They'll be streaming live the west side candidate forum so ours is the only Race my race is the only one that has two candidates So we'll be kind of not going at it, but we'll be sitting down and you know, something like this with a moderator Fine boxing gloves. Ah, I will see how it goes on the last time We're very we play nice out there. Contrary to what you heard about why night. We play nice Plenty. Aloha always coming All right, perfect. Well, thank you guys for coming out. It's been a track. I know it's not a fun commute out here So I appreciate you getting that downtown. Oh, it's a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Best life for your race Yes, thank you. All right. Well, it's been another series of hawaii's farm and food series Farm and food series. Well, we'll be back next week I think you'll probably have something a little more hippie-ish and interesting in the roots with a interesting movement between the permaculture and surf community See if we can get some volunteers for that. So until next time. Thank you