I read Tim's editorial in the Star-Bulletin this AM. Since the Defend Oahu Coalition and the Keep The North Shore Country in collaboration with Governor Lingle stifle discussion, I thought it would be fun to have a virtual debate with Tim's letter. I'll post his missive below and put my comments about what he said in italics and (parenthesis).
Enjoy.
Speculators do not appreciate rural North Shore's real value. (No, they count on it, if it depreciates, they lose money.)
By Tim Vandeveer
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 03, 2009
As far as jobs go, they don't get much better than mine. For the past five years, I've started every workday at sunrise, saddling horses and taking residents and visitors riding along the pristine beaches of Turtle and Kawela bays. To encounter nature on such a grand scale, while riding in the spiritual presence of Hawaiian burial grounds (blatant propaganda to further the idea that there are remains on the property and that should hinder development. This is to throw road blocks to TBR getting permits. I'd give Tim a million bucks if he could personally identify one place where there are human remains. There are probably remains, it is not a burial ground), is a humbling experience (because you are a haole from Texas, Oklahoma or Tennessee or California or whatever), and it has been one of the pleasures of my life to work alongside the tight-knit ohana at Turtle Bay Resort in such a beautiful and awe-inspiring setting. (Such nice words so we'll all think Tim is a cool humble kind of guy as opposed to a grand standing self serving serial protester.)
In recent years the development arm of the resort company proposed a massive construction plan, one that would change forever the face of not only the property, but the North Shore and Windward Oahu. Using an environmental impact statement and permits dating from the 1980s, (Um that is when the project was proposed. If you think there have been a lot of changes on the North Shore since then you are even bigger idiot or liar than I give you credit for) developers would add (up to) five hotels and (up to) a thousand resort condominiums to one of the last remaining rural stretches of this island. (What about the East, North and West Shores and Central Oahu.) Some argue that the expansion is needed for jobs,(Yo, dummy, you think people don't need work?) and some feel that it will accommodate yet-to-be-seen throngs of willing tourists coming to experience part of the "true Hawaii" that the resort advertises. Most, however, feel that such massive development (shabai) would threaten the viability of the existing resort by compromising the very reason that guests come to the country, or as Turtle Bay recently described it, (Tim, if you know anything about marketing, advertising, PR, or business, why don't you actually do some work along those lines?) "(true Hawaii is) pristine, unspoiled North Shore beaches ... unobstructed views of crystalline ocean."
I am not opposed to development. (SHABAI, you are a radical enviroMENTAList) I am opposed to development that is untimely and unsustainable. Last year during her State of the State address, Gov. Linda Lingle (the idiot) responded to an enormous (manufactured, shabai, haole, Union supported, serial protesters) outcry from residents and visitors to "Keep the Country COUNTRY!" with a proposal for the state to facilitate the purchase of the undeveloped land surrounding the hotel at Turtle Bay in preservation for future generations. (The stupidest idea in recent memory and a blatant ploy to advance her creed as an enviroMENTAList as she positions herself for a Senate run) An advisory working group was formed to establish the feasibility of such a plan by working with private entities, nonprofits and governmental agencies to ensure the open space on property would not fall prey to the bulldozer or become covered in concrete (BS or shabai, take your pick. Why would a business destroy their asset?).
Since that time the owner of the resort (mainland speculator (investment company) Oaktree Capital) has defaulted on a series of loans and allowed the property to fall into the limbo of receivership. The banks that currently control the future of the hotel appointed local developer Stanford Carr to oversee the project and squeeze as much money out of the property as is possible (So Tim in your Socialist Nirvana, that's a bad thing?). Not surprisingly, Carr recently described a "silent majority" of residents who support the proposed expansion at Turtle Bay, ostensibly as a job creator (Duh Tim, do you think construction and hotels don't generate jobs? ) (Star-Bulletin, Jan. 8). What he fails to mention is that the vast majority of workers at the existing resort vehemently oppose the development as something that would threaten their quality of life and drive away potential hotel guests.(BS, shabai big time. The workers who are stuck behind other managers know that they will have a much brighter economic future with an expanded resort. Unlike you Tim, they have families and would like to have a place to work for their kids and grand kids on the North Shore.) Traffic, crumbling infrastructure and lack of adequate facilities to accommodate such construction are some of the reasons a vocal (you got that right, mouthy ex pat Californian serial protesters) majority (in noise only) of residents of the North Shore and Koolau Loa balk at such grandiose plans. (they don't want more people at their surf spots.)
Efforts at obtaining help from Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the City Council or the Department of Planning and Permitting have been met with frustration. (They are not as stupid as the Governor) While the mayor has gone on record (He IS a politician) as being personally opposed to further development at Turtle Bay, his administration remains frozen under the threat of a lawsuit by the developer. (A lawsuit that Oaktree would win to the tune of $500 Million to $1 Billion of Hawaii tax payer money) Meanwhile, the DPP continues to grant permit extensions to a resort company that is itself embroiled in a legal dispute (for a supplemental EIS) and is currently defending its expansion plans before the state Land Use Commission With two failed attempts (low ball offers that were created by the Governor's enactment of a stupid condemnation law) by state and private interests to purchase the property, the developer seems unwilling to compromise the scale of the project simply because it is not acceptable to their bottom line. (This is such BS I am at a loss for words. We do not know how big the project would be, only how big it could be) I am left wondering if the resort developer's promise to "bring all sides together" (Tim, your side is the side of shout downs, insults, intimidation, grafitti, traffic blocking, rude, serial protesting and idiotic behavior) was serious or if this community will be forced to live with the threat of another Waikiki (Biggest Shabai statement yet!!!. TBR at full development would be 5% the size of Waikiki. I covered this in my post "Will Turtle Bay Become Another Waikiki" ) for years to come.
While she did not mention the proposed development at Turtle Bay in her most recent State of the State address, (maybe she regained some of her lost to LSD and Pot brain cells) the governor did note that "(a) better future is one that transitions us from an economy over reliant on land development to one that is innovation-driven and relies on the capacity of our people." Hope can be gleaned from her call for "green-collar jobs" as well as a Land and Ocean-Based Recreation Plan. (Tim, you really are dreaming if you think Hawaii is going to be at the forefront of any technological or intellectual achievements) A failure of imagination as the economic forecast grows increasingly bleak has prompted many (such as the governor) to ask that we not continue "business as usual," but instead live within our means and position ourselves for a brighter future.
From the saddle, I know that a brighter future means not only working hard and doing what is right, but not being afraid to dream. (um Tim, these are utopian pipe dreams not based in reality. If you think you can build a sustained, wide spread tourism economy based on Taro harvesting and horse rides, you are dreaming) Eco-tourism, recreational and cultural-based activities and utilizing areas primed to harness the wind and sun are just some of the ideas residents are eager to explore. In my estimation, the burden ultimately lies with the developer at Turtle Bay to do what is pono for the people, not just what is profitable for their pocketbooks. For we will either have good, sustainable jobs and open space in Hawaii, or eventually we will have neither.
Tim Vandeveer ( union hack, enviromentalist, who would have been fired from any other job that wasn't protected by his Union. He protests so much just so he can be a public figure/potential martyr and can't be fired.) is a stable hand (tour guide) at Turtle Bay Resort. He is currently serving as co-chairman of the Defend Oahu Coalition (Coalition of Idiots).
