By Aaron Stene – I’m deeply concerned about the actions of the National Park Service and U. S Fish and Wildlife Service.
These federal agencies intend to control how much new development happens in North Kona it seems.
For example, the National Park Service wants the State of Hawaii to designate the Keauhou aquifer as a water resource management area and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service wants to assign nearly 19,000 acres of land in North Kona as a critical habitat area.
In addition, the National Park Service was the first entity to intervene in the stalled Queen Kaahumanu Highway phase 2 widening project’s section 106 process in early 2011.
These requests, if approved, will impact all new developments in North Kona.
It strips home rule authority from the County of Hawaii and adds an additional layer of bureaucracy to the entitlement process.
I firmly believe the County and State of Hawaii are in a better position to manage our resources than a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington D.C.
Aaron Stene is a resident of Kailua-Kona