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November 7 - What Your Vote Means...The most important question on the November 7 ballot will not be about mayors, senators or representatives. Will Oahu citizens vote to accept the proposed new Charter is the decision that will have the most long range effect on our lives. Ladies, we have spent more than two years studying, writing, publishing testifying and attempting to make our influence felt on various Charter issues, and thus far we have won. This proposal is very much what we had in mind, and our task now is to encourage voters to accept it.
Many factors have changed since the last Charter review in 1959, most notably the enormous increase in population and the multiple ramifications of this. The population of our island is going to continue to increase and we must be prepared to meet this challenge if we are to preserve the beauty we live with. To be considered also is the impact of contemporary industry and technology. The Charter Commission has been concerned from the outset with creating a local government which is open and accessible to all citizens, and serves all facets of the community, not just special interests. They developed these ideas into the RESPONSIBLE CITY CONCEPT used to describe the city government as a DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION, as a SERVICE INSTITUTION, and as a FUTURE ORIENTED INSTITUTION. This analysis will deal with the last section, and briefly outline what the new Charter will do to streamline and make more effective the planning process. Planning will be divided into two separate departments, the Department of General Planning and the Department of Land Utilization. In keeping with our position statement, the Commission redefined the definition of the general plan, taking it away from its heavily physical orientation, making it comprehensive by including social, economic, environmental and design objectives for the - city. Also in keeping with our position the proposed document takes into account the number of instances where the public cried for new areas of input and influence in the planning process - a plea to give the average citizen as much leverage as the giant developer. As a result there will be public hearings by the Council and the Planning Commission before the general plan, development plans and any revisions to those plans are adopted. Also during the preparation of the development plans the Chief Planning Officer (Director of the Department of General Planning) will be required to give residents in the area affected by the plan a reasonable opportunity to present their views on the contents of the plan. The Department of General Planning will concentrate on long range, comprehensive planning and prepare the general plan and development plans, review the capital improvement projects in the executive budget, and prepare an annual social report. The director will chair the newly created Executive Planning Committee. The Executive Planning Committee will include the head of the General Planning Department plus the Managing Director, the Chief Budget Officer, and others the Mayor may choose. It is envisioned that this will add a new dimension to communication between these vital department heads, especially between budget and planning. Throughout our studies we were aware that to really plan effectively capital and operating budgeting had to be considered together. The Planning Commission persists with review authority over general plan, development plans and zoning and subdivision ordinances and rules and regulations. It shall hold public hearings, but as per our position statement, it no longer has real legal decisions to consider. It is purely advisory. The Department of Land Utilization will be responsible for implementing and administering the ordinances and regulations affecting land utilization. Such ordinances and regulations must conform to and implement the goals and objectives of the city as expressed in the general and development plans. Citizen groups were not the only ones who complained at hearings about the services of the planning department. Commercial builders and developers felt they were caught in the middle with one side complaining about the high cost of housing and the other slowing them down and making costs go up by delays in permit processing. Therefore the land utilization department has been charged with creating a one stop service for builders for obtaining permits and certifications. This doesn't mean that applications won't be scrutinized carefully, but it will eliminate the necessity of running all over town to obtain permits. This is just the bare bones of the new Charter. The entire summary and actual document were published in supplements to both newspapers on 10 October. If you have it , read it, at least the summary. If you have questions call the Charter Commission office and ask. They have staff there daily. There are so many innovative ideas in this document - Council reapportionement, a new concept of neighborhoods and neighborhood boards, citizen initiated charter amendments, integrated operating and capital budgetings, coordination of planning and budgeting, transfer of sewerage system to Board of Water Supply, a new department of housing and community development, the reorganization of Parks and Recreation into Recreation and Leisure Time, and a reorganized department
of Transportation. These are just a few. And it matters. The future of the RESPONSIBLE CITY CONCEPT is in your hands.
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