West Oahu Residents Speak Out At Important Ag Lands And Hoopili Station Meetings
by John Bond, Kanehili Cultural Hui
Residents are angry and upset that developers get everything they want while local politicians and City Government don't listen to the community. The political system has become very corrupted.
The Kapolei-Makakilo Neighborhood Board passed resolutions opposing the Hoopili Project and the HART Rail project. Rail and Hoopili are NOT POPULAR in West Oahu. Despite developers buying the City Council votes they want the average person really understands that rail has become a super expensive out of control land development scheme using State and Federal tax dollars.
Hoopili will involve digging up the iwi kupuna of Kalo'i and Honouliuli gulches where kanaka maoli farmed loi (taro), bananas, sweet potato for hundreds of years. Hoopili is a fake name and the farmland was stolen by a fraudulent FTA Farmland Policy Act Section 4f document.
The Hoopili Station meeting in Kapolei, like the Important Agricultural Lands meeting in Kapolei, were taken over by community members angry at the fraudulent IAL process used by City DPP consultants to justify passing Bill 3. The Hoopili Station meeting was stopped when the "Hoopili cultural paving" slide came up.
Important Agricultural Lands Presentation In Kapolei Stopped by Community Angered By Fraudulent Process
Hoopili Station Presentation In Kapolei Stopped by Community Asking For Real Cultural Answers And Not Just Pretty Cultural Paving Designs
http://www.honolulutransit.org/media/347342/20150602-hoopili-station-final%20design-community-meeting-minutes.pdfHART Transit Arts Program Administrator Lisa Yoshihara began to give a PowerPoint presentation regarding the cultural programs being implemented at each station, specifically the Hoopili Station, when she was interrupted by an attendee.
The meeting did not progress, due to the attendees holding their own discussion and not allowing HART staff to continue the presentation.
Audience Questions/Comments:
What are you going to do with the pueo (Hawaiian owl)? The pueo is my aumakua (family god/guardian).
Why didn’t you consult with community about the Hawaiian cultural aspects of this area?
This meeting is not representative of the ahupuaa (land division area).
This area is home to endangered plants. What about the ilima (abutilon menzesii)?
HART is poisoning owls.
A good presentation allows for feedback.
We need open government.
We need good men on the City Council.
Haseko is desecrating the community.
HART is disrespecting the community and the iwi (Native Hawaiian burials).
Senator Will Espero favors corporations and special interest groups over the community.
It doesn’t matter what we say, they are going to do what they are going to do.
The younger generation will be the one to step up and make a change on this island.
They are clogging up all the karsts and killing the fish; not enough research has been done.
Saying "cultural pillars" of concrete is disrespectful.
Kioni Dudley said Hoopili is before the Supreme Court and HART is holding this meeting and building the Hoopili Station to make it harder for the Supreme Court to rule to stop the Hoopili development. This is what they did in the lawsuit against the rail project by saying they already built too much to stop the project.
There are burials, pueo, native plants and trails here.
Everything emanates from mauka; Ewa Beach is nothing without it.
We need the rail to serve our people, not the people that may move to Hoopili.
We need a freight train to move our crops to market, not rail as it is currently planned.
We live on an island. If the plane or boats don’t come, how will we live?
The judicial system failed, because it did not stop rail.
Rail should just be in urban areas. The farmland is being wasted and destroyed.
If you take away our agricultural land it only makes us more dependent on imports.
You are taking away our food. How would you like me coming to your house and eat your food? Because that is what you are doing to us.
Land leased by Monsanto is being used for commercial, not agricultural use.
Rail Station Design Community Info. Mtg. Meeting Minutes—3 June 2, 2015
Brennon (Morioka) was asked if he heard anything that they have said tonight as untrue? Glenn Oamilda stated that he knows this area, but nobody came to him. HART has not come out to the community except one meeting in Ewa Beach.
These are not good times, because we are suffering.
We are not protesting; we are trying to save what we have.
Morioka was director of the State Department of Transportation and now he’s with the rail.
David Tanoue was director of the City Department of Planning and Permitting, now he’s a consultant for Haseko.
John Bond said the Farmland Protection Act is being violated. The Parsons Brinkerhoff survey of agricultural lands was illegal. They called the farmland "not valuable" and that’s why they could bring the rail here.
This isn’t about transit, it’s about TOD. Rail and TOD are for the developers and big money interests.
The Japanese land boom in the 80s hurt local people.
John Bond said the City Council votes on rail were illegal due to the new ethics commission ruling.
Morioka indicated that the City Corporation Counsel is reviewing the issue but has yet to make any determination as to why the votes would be invalid.
Rail will be the second biggest customer of HECO.
How will the City pay the bill?
How much will it cost to run the rail? Current estimates is 100-130 million dollars annual cost.
They are going to jack up property taxes.
The money spent on rail is not going to stay in Hawaii.
It’s going to be tougher to live here because of big developments.
Hoopili is a made up name. The correct name is Honouliuli and this is a culturally significant place; these pillars are invading burial sites.
Hoopili is the largest cultural area in Hawaii.
There are hundreds of thousands of burials in Hoopili and East Kapolei.
Dan Grabauskas would not allow any cultural monitoring in the West Oahu Farrington Highway section.
The grading work has dirt blowing into the community. It’s a clean air violation.
Rail and Hoopili are connected. You cannot like Hoopili and dislike the rail. They go together.
They are trying to get rid of all the cultural and historical sites.
We can’t afford low income housing.
What would happen if the ships stopped coming in?
Let’s change the blood quantum for Hawaiian Homelands.
Why don’t you help us save our farmland?
You guys do things behind closed doors.
Our Hawaiian pueo are endangered by this project.
The pueo is my family’s aumakua. You are killing my family.
OHA and DHHL moved endangered plants that didn’t survive.
The City Council let Haseko build a marina and a lagoon; they are going to put up a fence to keep local people out.
Rail Station Design Community Info. Mtg. Meeting Minutes—4 June 2, 2015
Our ecosystem and water system is fragile. Environmental protection laws have not protected us.
As long as we keep fighting, they will never win.
You should go back and tell them this meeting was a failure.
Dudley said that the farmland rating was falsified. The City and PB lied regarding the farm lands.
Senator Espero asked that if anyone has evidence of illegal activity to please share it and he will act upon it.
The population of Hawaii has grown by 90,000 people every ten years. Response from audience was to stop letting people move to Hawaii.
This is a military occupation.
The American system doesn’t work.
If HART does not allow access to the excavation work, then they are not able gather evidence regarding disturbing iwi kupuna (Native Hawaiian burials).
John Bond stated there is a stockpile of material Kiewit excavated that may have iwi kupuna.
Morioka stated that we do have a cultural monitoring program and monitors are on site at all areas that have been identified as having a higher likelihood of encountering iwi kupuna. In other areas, HART must also follow state and federal laws regarding burials.
Every worksite should have a cultural monitor.
Mike Lee has been ignored by the rail, D.R. Horton, etc.
The politicians are not having the town hall meetings needed for a project this big.
Morioka was asked if they could have a copy of the minutes.
Morioka said the minutes will be posted to the website early next week or if they provide their email addresses to them he would email it to them directly.
