January 10, 2006
Dear Friend of Waimea Valley:
Because of your interest in protecting Waimea Valley, we welcome you or your organization to become a member of the newly formed
Save Waimea Valley Coalition. The Coalition is an umbrella network of non-profit groups, individuals, businesses, elected officials, and government agencies committed to ensuring a positive, permanent resolution of the City's pending condemnation lawsuit in order to achieve long-term protection for the ahupua`a of Waimea.
The mission of the Save Waimea Valley Coalition is to preserve the ahupua`a of Waimea for future generations by (1) providing a community forum to support the preservation effort and (2) facilitating a public-private partnership to secure the long-term protection of Waimea Valley.
As you know, on December 7, 2005, the City Council voted 9-0 to reject a proposed settlement that would have divided the ahupua`a of Waimea and allowed the prior owner to retain the mauka lands for residential development. The community's strong opposition to that unwise proposal, as well as the strong leadership by the National Audubon Society, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Senator Bobby Bunda, State Representative Michael Magaoay, and the North Shore Neighborhood Board, among many others, led the City Council to vote unanimously against dividing the Valley. The path is now clear for a creative new solution to protect the Valley in a way that everyone can support.
The next few weeks are a critical period in determining the fate of Waimea Valley. With your help, the Coalition will be able to speak with a strong collective voice to support preservation, whether the lawsuit proceeds to trial (scheduled to start in First Circuit Court on February 13, 2006) or whether there is a settlement through the court-appointed Mediator (which would have to come back to the City Council for hearings and then approval by Mayor Hannemann). Continuous and constructive community support is essential to ensuring a strong public-private partnership that will protect the Valley.
All we ask of you as a member of the Coalition is that you allow us to add your name on our web site as a supporter of our mission and, when needed, that you send letters, testimony, or support under your own name. We also anticipate submitting letters and testimony on behalf of the Coalition showing the list of the members, so your name would be part of those communications as well. The Coalition will maintain frequent communication with you about future developments with respect to the lawsuit, possible settlement, and related information so that you, individually or as an organization, can take the action that you think is most appropriate.
The Coalition web site will soon be ready to launch so that you can keep up on developments, spread the word, and encourage others to join. We will let you know when it is ready. At this time, the Coalition is not itself taking donations but expects to post on the web site the designated organizations in the Coalition that will welcome donations for this joint effort.
To sign up as a member of the Coalition, please contact Membership Liaison Nancy John (
johnn001@hawaii.rr.com) or any of the Coalition Coordinators: Denise Antolini at 638-5594 (
antolini@hawaii.rr.com); Kathleen Pahinui at 637-8545 (
pahinuik001@hawaii.rr.com); or Gerry Meade at 638-8636 (
meadec001@hawaii.rr.com). We will need your contact information (name, address, phone, and email) and, if you are with an organization, business, or agency, a statement that you are authorized to join the Coalition. If you have any questions, let us know.
Mahalo for the contributions you have already made to protecting Waimea Valley and for your future participation in this community effort.
We urge you to sign up as soon as you can; if possible, by January 14, 2006, so that you can be part of the Coalition when it announced to the public soon thereafter.
With gratitude and aloha,
Denise, Kathleen & Gerry
Save Waimea Valley Coalition Coordinators
