July 2007 | Small Business News
HCDA Seeks Control Over Kewalo Basin - Boat Owners Upset
By Frank Mento
Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) held a "town hall" meeting on May 29th. HCDA is seeking information and comments for the next step planning of Kewalo Basin Harbor, and the neighboring park and shore lands.
HCDA had previously drafted new rules for the administration of Kewalo Harbor. These rules, when first proposed in February 2007, caused all the small boat operators at Kewalo to cry foul. HCDA has been revising these rules, and the scheduled "town hall" meeting is a part of this revision.
The small boat operators at Kewalo Basin are still incensed with HCDA. The initial sky-high rates triggered immediate outrage, and the small revisions proposed to date have done little to answer the boat operators' calls for fairness. However, the small boat operators are not upset about rates, they are most upset at HCDA's continued insistence that the public's ownership of Kewalo Basin Harbor will be secondary to HCDA's. HCDA will operate the Harbor and the surrounding lands like any commercial landlord. The likely long term result - the public and the small local businesses will lose.
The small boat owners have formed a non-profit organization called Kewalo Ocean Activities (KOA). Despite the fiercely independent nature of small businessmen and the even fiercer independent streak in fisherman, over eighty percent of the harbor boat operators have joined KOA. The membership of KOA believes that by standing together, they will make HCDA listen to their voice. KOA's mission is simple - to protect their members' collective livelihoods and to keep the public lands in the publics hands.
Despite HCDA platitudes to the contrary, KOA fears HCDA's commercial landlord approach will set the stage for the erosion of public input. If HCDA has its way, KOA contends, many livelihoods earned at the Harbor will disappear. What will also disappear is the quaint charm and history of this small commercial harbor. In its place will likely appear a wealthy mega yacht society.
KOA's conjecture is that, HCDA's vision for mega yachts will not only eventually drive out all small business in the Harbor; but it will also exert tremendous demands upon the public park areas, now enjoyed by Hawaii residents. The big question is, according to KOA, "Will the public still have a say when a commercial landlord is in control?"
And it is not just the KOA Members who feel this way. Several local community groups agree, and will be supporting KOA. The general consensus with these groups, some of whom were instrumental in stopping HCDA's plan to sell public lands to A&B, was "Here we go again!" HCDA is doing one great thing in the community, they are getting a lot of people into community participation; and all of that participation has one common thread - to stop HCDA's ill conceived plans.
KOA also held a Public Rally of support on May 29th prior to the "town hall" at 5:00 PM on the dock area directly in front of Fisherman's Wharf. Frank Mento, a member of KOA, can be reached at (808) 286-4880 or by email at carlmento@msn.com.
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