February 26, 2008

“ A thing is right only when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the community; and the community includes the soil, water, fauna and flora as well as the people.” – Aldo Leopold. 
Sand County Almanac, 1949

Aloha,

The expression “we’re loving Maui to death” came to mind again this week.

Everyone loves Maui, right? We all show it in different ways.

Just beyond Maui Meadows, in South Kihei, there are 670 acres of land that have been targeted for development over twenty years. It is beautiful out there, peaceful and relatively undisturbed; the area was originally called Honua‘ula. An investment group based on the mainland bought the property in 2000.

On Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14, 2008, despite an incomplete application, lack of a required current Environmental Impact Statement and many unanswered questions, six of the nine members of the Maui County Council (three of them newly elected – Gladys Baisa, Bill Medeiros and Mike Victorino) voted to allow 1,400 homes, another major golf course, widened roads, etc. to be built on this land. What ultimately happens here, whatever decisions are made and how this situation is handled will be an example, setting a precedent for the future for the rest of the available open land on this island.  

There are many other hundreds of acres on Maui that are potential magnets for development. Those who want to make money from “paving paradise” will ask for whatever they want, and rightly so – love that freedom of speech.
The nine people on the Maui County Council are the only people on this island – supposedly – that can actually say yes or no to all these frantic proposals. They were elected by Maui residents to represent the people who live here, and are entrusted with a heavy responsibility. We are forced to rely on their wisdom and judgment.
 
But each of us has to decide for ourselves – is it more important to build and build and build until there is no more land left to build on (at what point do you say enough already!?), or to plan wisely for the thousands of people who already live and visit here, and the thousands more who will do so in the future. Your decision, your words and your actions today can help to make a big difference in the lives and surrounding environment for our children and grandchildren.

– Jan Welda


“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature can heal and give strength to body and soul” – John Muir

Jan Welda