Above: Black and white illustrated poster in downtown Koloa store window last week informs passersby of monkeypod and developer related issue. Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 2007.
Last week, as a tourist visiting the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, I became interested in a local protest which brought community activists in the area to the aid of a belt of historic Monkeypod trees which are said to be fifty to a hundred years old along Koloa's major downtown retail corridor.
Thanks to the work of creative men and women among this group, it would be difficult to ignore the homemade crosses and signs erected along the property line in question and posters and related flyers in local shops directly across from the proposed development. One helpful website is at: http://homepage.mac.com/juanwilson/islandbreath/
I took a number of pictures over a period of days of a standing, visual demonstration alerting passersby and shoppers to the possible upcoming demolition of these tress said to be over a hundred years old in some cases, which has been proclaimed by activists to be as imminent as January 2, 2008, and was on hand and several feet behind local reporter/photographer Dennis Fujimoto from The Garden Island newspaper who was visiting the site on Tuesday, December 18, 2008, to photograph demonstrators and cover the story for the next day's edition.
What is particularly remarkable to myself was the speed and organization involved by local foes of the tree demolition who mounted a whirlwind publicity campaign to inform the general public of the particulars and the use of the Internet and local blogs in the area for the same purpose. Clearly, technological advancements in this area are a boost to persons living in smaller localities as well as larger national forums in regards of having a louder voice in the important economic and political decision making process of the day.
Above: Homemade sign shares possible for future for Koloa's historic trees. Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 2007.
This topic was incidentally, the focal point of the recent South Sound Technological Conference held at the UW Campus in Tacoma, WA this last November. During that conference which I attended with great interest, US House of Representatives member Adam Smith (D) 9th District which includes the City of Destiny, one of the sponsors of the conference, asserted in his address that citizen bloggers in particular were bringing a certain level of participatory democracy along with them that heretofore had not been previously available. Interested? See: http://www.feedtacoma.com/videos/SSTC-2007/
At the time I wondered if his remarks were overly optimistic in regards to the general population. I'm still undecided on this issue which is a major reason I've not been able to fully blog about the conference on this website. But, for those persons and groups who are media saavy and able to organize on the Internet and through blogging sites as of now, the concerned members of Kauai's community who care about these long-standing trees in Koloa Town are wonderfully, delightfully prepared.
According to a flyer prepared (shown above) by the protestors, the demolition involved did not garner the support of the county and in fact, was a direct result of a settlement made with the developer by the county's planning commission after some procedural error was made and a threat of a lawsuit was raised. Protestors also say in the flyer that the project was initially turned down because it did not meet with the town's historic regulations.
Above: Visual demonstration protesting the imminent demolition of this strip of historic monkeypod trees in downtown Koloa, Kauai. Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 2007.
(This blog was orginally posted on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at a reader-generated site at The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA.)
Area activitists are also concerned with the spectre of development with buildings towering over those nearby without having large trees to soften their impact, an important issue as Koloa Town has made it a point to emphasize its historic character in tourist-oriented websites and economic promotional material with a special emphasis on the monkeypod trees in the area. See website: http://www.oldkoloa.com/
Above: Old Koloa Town's historic center shown from a side angle features among other attractions a small museum and representative of tall monkeypod trees that have graced the area for up to a century or more. Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 2007.
It should also be noted that while monkeypod trees are not native to Hawaii, it has been suggested Koloa's monkeypod trees are the possible and likely descendants of an original documented specimen planted in Koloa in the mid-1800's. The trees in downtown Koloa have become a marker for persons living and visiting in the area for half a century or more. While the species is considered invasive and competes with native plants for a place in the islands fragile ecosystem, suitable replacements in the hearts and memories of individuals interested in having a voice in this issue is not unanimous. For details see: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Samanea+saman
This fact is of particular interest to others in communities and locales around the globe as we consider the overall impact of our lifestyle choices and decisions upon the greater landscape in this era when we are becoming more sensitive to the effect of climate changes and those areas where we can have a positive impact. Regardless of whether these particular trees are saved, moved or demolished and replaced with smaller verisions of the same genus or a more ecologically compatible tree form, the process in which the change takes place and how the issue is handled in the minds of those involved is of far greater important in the long-range scheme of things.
The county has a comprehensive development plan through 2015 but like so many other municipalities, needs the funds and resources available to implement the guidelines upon which they so carefully labored for their vision to become a reality. It is obvious that changes in communication technology are increasingly going to play some part in the process. The question may be not if this phenomena will happen but rather who will eventually end up playing the most major roles.
According to a guest editorial published in The Garden Island newspaper on Sunday, December 23,2007 by Kauai County Mayor Bryan J. Baptise in an open letter to conerned members of the community states "the county can only compel landowners to retain existing trees on their properties within the framework allowed by law" particularly through a legal vehicle by the name of the Exceptional Tree Ordinance. Currently, he noted there are 20 such trees on the designated list.
None of the trees in the development in question is one of the twenty so designated. However the mayor notes the county’s community development plans also provide the framework for further restrictions regarding the removal of trees on private property.
Baptise did not comment at this juncture on the protestors charge that possible mishandling of the application by the county's planning commission was a factor. For those who are interested Mayor Baptise's letter is at: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2007/12/24/opinion/edit02.txt
He apparently does not share thei alarm of community activitists over the inadvertent loss of this particular bank of trees siting a decision which calls for the replacement of trees over 12 inches in diameter with replacements of up to 12 inches in diameter somewhere on the same piece of property.
Baptiste concludes his letter to his constituents noting "as a matter of policy the Planning Department and Planning Commission encourages all landowners with development proposals to preserve and maintain existing mature trees, especially native trees."
Above: Community activists interested in preserving the monkeypod trees of Koloa demonstrate along Koloa's major downtown thoroughfare early last week. Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 2007.
Note: Dennis Fujimoto's article entitled "Trees have few days, many friends" can be found at: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2007/12/19/news/news01.txt In regards to the: Kauai Historic Preservation Commission
go to the following website: http://www.kauai.gov/Government/BoardsampCommissions/HistoricPreservationCommission/tabid/295/Default.aspx
More details about the community development plan for Kauai County 2005-2015 with regards to Koloa and vicinity in chapters 5 & 6, can be found at:http://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/planning/Ch5.PDF, http://www.kauai.gov/Portals/0/planning/Ch6.PDF
No comments:
Post a Comment