Ewa Plantation Prime Ag Land Still Retains Centuries Old Traditional Agricultural Features
by John Bond Kanehili Cultural Hui
The original field numbers and layouts are still used for the farmland under production today growing nearly 40% of Oahu's fresh vegetables.
Plantation roads, old railway beds, water flumes, concrete bridges from the 1920's, still working water plantation pipes and pump station, electrical lines, designated by the State Office of Planning as PRIME and Class A & B soils.
It was the 1977 Oahu General Plan (OGP) that caused the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention to craft Article XI, Section 3 to make it CLEAR that Important Agricultural Lands should be mapped and preserved.
The thinking then was towards "diversified agriculture" that would replace sugar and pineapple as the plantations closed down.
In fact the State of Hawaii DID meet the constitutional requirement to map the Important Agricultural Lands (IAL) as the Hawaii State Office of Planning ALISH and LSB maps illustrate.
State of Hawaii did meet the constitutional requirement to map the Important Agricultural Lands.These are the maps!
And in fact the City Council also passed a resolution in 2012 supporting the mapping of the IAL even if in an urban growth boundary, but City political manipulation and the usual developer payoffs pushed the incredibly bad Bill 3 zoning FIRST which was contrary to the intent of the Hawaii State Constitution.
Very bad planning with no regard for the sustainability needs of the West Oahu community and definitely NOT SMART GROWTH.
Of all the places that needs an emergency food supply it is Oahu and especially dangerously isolated West Oahu...
Honolulu City Council members used as an excuse the 1977 Oahu General Plan which designated West Oahu as an urban growth area as "the reason" to pave over all agricultural lands and eliminate open space.
Under IAL criteria it meets SEVEN of eight but was never meant to be EXCLUDED. It's a CORRUPT City government land development EXCUSE.
There was NOTHING in the 1977 OGP passed by the City Council that stated that agriculture could NOT be in the West Oahu urban growth area and that it must all be paved over.
Productive diversified agriculture open space was expected in 1977-78 to also provide a beneficial scenic environment for the West Oahu community and cultural connection with the aina. As most people know who have traveled anywhere - passing through agricultural farmland by car, bus or train provides a pleasant and memorable experience for residents and visitors alike.
Important Agricultural Lands criteria wasn't a
City Scheme Political Boundary
IAL workshops conducted by the City DPP consultants found that those honestly interested in identifying Important Agricultural Lands picked the three MOST IMPORTANT qualifications for IAL- and the politically created "urban growth boundary" scored consistently VERY LOW!
From the Hawaii State governor on down in 1978 it was important that Oahu RETAIN open space and some agricultural character which would also be attractive for tourism industry visitors to experience.
In 1978 those political leaders of intelligence knew that visitors didn't come to Hawaii to see VAST URBAN SPRAWL. Hawaii's cultural history is based upon AG.
The diversified fresh produce agriculture serving local markets and restaurants which exists on former Ewa Plantation today is EXACTLY what the 1978 ConCon had in mind to preserve- productive, job creating open space and a rural character which was the essence of the Hawaii State motto - the Life of the Land...
There will be NO LIFE in the land that is paved over and dumping huge amounts of polluted surface water runoff into nearby swimming beaches, surfing and fishing spots.
An H-1 car accident or the failure of a simple mechanical part can create a massive highway traffic nightmare of nearly unbelievable proportions, and in a matter of minutes force thousands of cars and heavy trucks to divert through local community roads.
Unfortunately the elderly and very young children as well as pets are at great risk during these massive endless traffic jams. Fire and emergency vehicles, service vans and food deliveries can't get through.
This is what is coming to West Oahu... and it will be an
environmental and social disaster.
environmental and social disaster.
It has been elected and appointed officials and City government corruption which has sold out the environment and public welfare as well as violating the State Constitution.
It is the greatest of all CON JOBS to say its "Smart Growth" and postulate that rail will solve traffic problems because local residents will be walking and bicycling everywhere without need to make timely family and business appointments.
Heavy traffic and endless rows of buildings and strip malls are why people leave.
West Oahu is rapidly becoming a greedy land development scheme for near term land flipping profiteers that will leave local residents high costs and concrete.
There are in FACT already plenty of vacant empty lots in Kapolei that could have supplied the really needed "Smart Growth" low cost, low income apartments that most working families now need and could afford.
In FACT over 50,000 homes have already been approved in West Oahu to give carpenters and construction workers decades of job security.
Turning both H-1 and local Ewa roadways into a nightmarish HELL is really a crime against the West Oahu community that will become a future national example of a botched and greed driven "Second City" created by a corrupt political system
