The Hawaii County Council voted 5-3 on Wednesday in favor of passing a long-term public planning document described by opponents at the meeting as “treason,” an “act of war,” a “blatant land-grab,” “brainwashing,” “immoral” and the product of “blackmail.”

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The Hawaii County Council voted 5-3 on Wednesday in favor of passing a long-term public planning document described by opponents at the meeting as “treason,” an “act of war,” a “blatant land-grab,” “brainwashing,” “immoral” and the product of “blackmail.”

Council members Dennis Onishi, Ashley Kierkiewicz and Holeka Inaba all cast “no” votes. Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder was absent.

Before the vote, the Hilo council chambers swelled with testifiers eager to speak on Bill 66, the vast majority of whom stood in opposition. The bill adopts the Hawaii County General Plan 2045 — a 20-year comprehensive policy document guiding land use, growth, public services and transportation on the island. Wednesday’s meeting marked the legislation’s second and final reading.

The bill now heads to the desk of Mayor Kimo Alameda. Alameda has indicated that he would neither sign the measure nor veto it, effectively letting it pass but demonstrating his “reservations.”

“I’m not happy with it as-is,” he told the Tribune-Herald after the vote, criticising the plan as “too prescriptive” and needing amendments, saying it should “move itself back to more of the middle and not be so one-sided.”

The current General Plan on the books was adopted in 2005 and has come to the end of its functional lifespan, prompting Planning Department officials to submit a 310-page revision to the County Council in March of last year.

This lengthy update — referred to informally as the “2045 Plan” — is the byproduct of years of public hearings and comment periods, formed with the input from dozens of meetings and thousands of comments submitted by the public.

The 2045 Plan has been available for public review for over a year, and calls for climate change adaptation, sets goals for net-zero carbon emissions, and restricts growth to urban areas in order to protect rural, agricultural land. It calls for stricter land use rules, provisions for mass transit expansion, and mandates for adopting renewable energy technology.

The plan has had the support of many county officials, including current Planning Director Jeff Darrow and former planning director Chris Yuen.

Yuen testified in-person Wednesday about the plan’s merits and again attempted to set the record straight about climate change.

“What you have in front of you is a General Plan with strong basic principles,” Yuen said. “A General Plan that recognizes that climate change is a fact that will increasingly affect our daily lives in the decades to come, and it’s a plan that you can be proud to enact as members of the council.”

He tried to address a common claim among the plan’s opponents that it would take away private property rights and freedom of choice.

“This opposition is based on fundamental misunderstanding of what a General Plan is and what a General Plan does,” he said. “This General Plan will not change what anybody can do on their property now. It will not change what anybody can do on their property in the future, unless you’re maybe part of the 1% of property owners who will seek a rezoning sometime, or who may seek a special permit or some other kind of land use permit that requires you to come before the County Council or the planning commissions. It won’t make you drive a certain type of car, it won’t make you live in a certain type of community if you don’t want to live there.”

Another testifier in support of the bill’s climate provisions was Hilo resident Noel Morin, who used Kauai County’s success in achieving renewable energy goals as an example that he said Hawaii Island should follow.

“I want to make one point today: Targets work,” Morin said.

He explained that Kauai’s utility set a goal a decade ago to source 50% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2023 — a target that it met several years early. This, he said, prompted the island to aim for 100% renewable energy use by 2033, which has helped insulate it from recent geopolitical price shocks.

“This spring when oil prices surged because of the war in Iran, Kauai’s rates went up 13%,” he said. “We are expecting bill increases of 20 to 30%, and this is from the same energy crisis — (just) different exposure.”

Following in Kauai’s footsteps, he said, would put Hawaii Island in-line with the state’s requirement that utility companies generate 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2045, per state law.

“General Plan 2045 meets that standard — a plan without energy targets does not,” Morin said.

Criticism of the plan from opposition testifiers ran the gamut from accusations that it lacked public input and was the result of corruption and nefarious outside influence, to claims which one council member characterized in the past as “conspiracy theories.”

Hamakua resident Kevin Hill praised the three council members who voted against the bill during its first reading on May 20.

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“But there are six of you who haven’t, and I wonder who you work for,” Hill said.

The standing-room-only crowd in the Hilo chamber, he said, was clear evidence that the 2045 Plan went against the public’s will.

“We should be approving a document that has had the people’s input, (that’s) of the people, by the people, for the people,” he said. “If it would, you wouldn’t have a room full of people.”

Mountain View resident Seraph D’Alerta testified via Zoom, pointing at a large TV screen displaying one of the document’s zoning maps as alleged proof that the plan sought to remove private property rights.

“This area is being rezoned for natural use, which means where I live I will not be able to live,” D’Alerta said. “This means everything I have ever worked for to have a place to live, for my family to have a place to live, for me to grow food — I will not be able to do that here anymore if this plan is selected.”

He then reminded council members who they “work” for.

“This is not for people, this is an act of war,” he said. “You council members — you work for us. You were selected by us. You work for us. Do what we ask and tell you to do.”

South Kona resident Juhl Rayne also testified via Zoom and called climate change a “stupid lie,” claiming that council members voting in favor of the bill could be held legally accountable.

“I just want to know that each of you — just as human beings, women and men — will be held personally liable for anything that takes away our rights as human beings,” Rayne said. “So, I just wanted to put you on notice that you’ll be held personally liable — you won’t be able to hide behind the county.”

South Kona farmer Julie Schaus said the plan would be a “complete overhaul of life as we know it,” and that the testifiers milling around the chambers “may not be doctors, lawyers or journalists” but could still “recognize injustices when (they) see it.”

“This agenda sets all of these alarms off,” Schaus said. “It’s unethical, immoral. It’s a violation (and) infraction against the people of Hawaii and our present land rights, and we have a right to know who or what organization is spearheading this agenda.”

She claimed that 99% of written and oral testimonies were against the plan, and mused about what type of self-interest was driving council members to support it.

“What could compel you to vote against the people’s will? Money, job security, blackmail?” she asked.

“This sounds like an agenda for a prison encampment, a dystopian reality by government, NGOs, and foreign interests to rule over the people like Mao once did in China,” she added.

Sara Steiner described the plan as “junk,” warning the council that if they approved it, she would “join the lawsuits,” which elicited scattered applause from the audience and forced the council into a five-minute recess.

“As a reminder, when we get back, please do not respond to testimony (or) we’ll continue to need to go into recess.” Chair Inaba warned the crowd.

After public testimonies wrapped up, Kohala Councilman James Hustace called on Planning Director Darrow to sit before the council and present a short history of the 2045 Plan.

“There was a tremendous amount of input from the public,” Darrow said. “That’s what the plan is made up of.”

He attempted to address concerns expressed by testifiers like D’Alerta, who claimed the plan’s “natural” zoning would supplant agriculture-zoned land and prevent farmers from growing food.

“This does not limit anybody’s ability to farm or build a house or change their zoning. It’s just a new type of overall General Plan land use designation,” he said.

“There’s nothing in the plan that is gonna force anybody to do anything,” he added. “It’s not gonna force anybody to buy an electric vehicle or give up your truck or lose your land or rezone or anything.”

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Email Stefan Verbano at [email protected].