THE GARDEN ISLAND The League of Women Voters of Kauai County will take on a timely, important bedrock topic facing Kauai and the state. In it’s 36th annual meeting to be held at Aloha Beach Resort today the general question
THE GARDEN ISLAND
The League of Women Voters of Kauai County will take on a timely, important bedrock topic facing Kauai and the state. In it’s 36th annual meeting to be held at Aloha Beach Resort today the general question the LWV will ask is: “Are We Planning or Permitting?” The focus of the 1 p.m. public forum will be land use planning, with the League’s business meeting prior to lunch.
“Getting an arm around a topic like land use planning for our island state and exquisite paradise like Kauai is essential. Whether we realize it or not, the fact of long-range land use planning on Kauai has affected our yesterdays, affects all our todays and will affect all our tomorrows,” said Susan Wilson, Kauai League board member, in a press release. “Luckily, Hawaii’s own George Washington- type founding father, so to speak, of land use planning in Hawaii, Tom Dinell, has agreed to present an overview of the topic and lead an interactive discussion with invited panelists and the public.” Tom Dinell, Professor Emeritus and founder of University of Hawaii Department of Urban and Regional Planning has been, and continues to be, a mentor of university students and professional land use planners across the state. Keith Nitta, Kauai Planning Department’s long-range land use planner was mentored by Dinell when at UH in 1974-75.
Also participating in the League’s forum today will be a small number of other panelists representing a cross section of persons who have, had, or want to have a significant impact on County Land Use Planning. “We chose our panelists as carefully as we chose our topic because we knew leadership and thoughtfulness was needed to begin a good open dialog on Kauai long-range land use,” said Wilson in the release.
Other Kauai League Board members likened the issue of Kauai land use to an often heard quote, “If You Break It, You Own It.” That quote originated with Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, referring to the Iraq invasion. “The quote seems relevant to the explosion of land use questions here on Kauai and you have to follow it with dropping the other shoe. The other shoe is asking the next question: ‘If it’s broken, can we fix it?’” said Wilson in the release.
Come to the LWV discussion today to see of there is an answer.
For more information, please contact Carol Bain, LWV-KC president, 246-2111 or e-mail KLWV@kauai.net
