Here is my letter to the Honolulu Advertiser
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080608/OPINION02/806080331/-1/BACKISSUES
Property issue should have been addressed
Last Sunday's article on the possibility of people's property being confiscated to make room for the rail project addressed an issue that should have been addressed long before the City Council voted to approve rail.
I have previously written letters, as have others, warning about the possibility of people being forced off their land to make room for the light rail. I also wrote letters to the mayor and my City Council representative on this issue.
However, we have been ignored by nearly everyone.
I'm not against the idea of a rail system. I am against the idea of people's property being confiscated to make way for light rail (or any other project), and it's a shame very few have addressed this issue.
Pablo Wegesend
Honolulu
Now, here is the Honolulu Advertiser addressing the possible land confiscation to make room for rail.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/NEWS09/806010355/-1/BACKISSUES
A few weeks later, the Honolulu Advertiser mentioned about the Banana Patch neighborhood in Pearl City that might be demolished to make room for rail
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/NEWS09/806160345/-1/BACKISSUES
A corner of old Hawai'i sandwiched between highways in West O'ahu will be converted into a park-and-ride lot based on the city's current plan for its new commuter rail line.
Located near the intersection of Kamehameha and Farrington highways, the tiny Banana Patch neighborhood is a rural oasis that so far has withstood encroaching urban development.
Families still live without county water, street lights or sidewalks in the 20-acre triangle between Leeward Community College, the Pearl Highlands Center and two 43-story high-rises. The Banana Patch encompasses about a dozen homes, a church and a trucking company.
At least six of the families may need to move to make way for a park-and-ride facility planned by the city as part of its $3.7 billion commuter rail system.
The proposed Pearl Highlands park-and-ride has been identified as a key way to funnel North Shore and Central O'ahu commuters onto the rail system. Commuters along the H-2 Freeway could drive to the lot, park and take the train to work, avoiding the congested H-1 Freeway.
Sixty-one-year-old property owner Sam Alipio has lived on a 1-acre lot in the Banana Patch his entire life. He calls it "the place that time forgot" and is not too pleased about being moved out.
"I'm kind of upset. I don't want them to use my property," Alipio said. "We're comfortable here. A lot of people say, 'Hey how can you live there?' Well, that's the way I was brought up."
And here is the City & County's arrogant attitude towards the idea of (gasp) notifying people that their property would be confiscated to make way for rail.
While the city has held numerous information briefings on the rail project, it should do more to notify property owners that they may be affected, said City Council member Gary Okino, who represents Pearl City, including the Banana Patch neighborhood.
"I think the city feels that's enough notice. If you live in the vicinity, it's up to you to find out if your property is affected," Okino said. "To me they should be proactive, and they should notify the property owners."
And here is KSSK's Larry Price on this issue!
http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/therightprice_article/stealing_land_for_the_rail_plan/
---
Too bad those articles weren't written before the City Council approved light rail. It might've changed the discussion. Even the majority of the rail opponents didn't address the possible land confiscation.
I did a few years back and you can read it at
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?e801cca5-cbf2-4882-8a14-9a57607c7340
An excerpt from my editorial
They'll build it in locations where real people have their homes and businesses. It could be your home or your business that will be confiscated by the government through eminent domain. Your whole way of life will be ruined, all because of the utopian fantasies of others. It wouldn't matter if the government gives you the full monetary value of your property when they confiscate it. Your home is more than its monetary value; it's your memories, your way of life and a lot of other things that money can't buy.
------
I also remember writing an editorial at the Hawaii Reporter against the idea of building an expanded UH West Oahu campus
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?10953863-82d7-4492-aa59-fdfd7286e091
However, since then, I have changed my mind, because I'm thinking, if UH West Oahu reduces the traffic jams on the H-1, then there's less need for rail transit, and less worry about possible land confiscation to make way for light rail! UH West-Oahu will still be highly expensive, but it's better than having people forced off their land to make way for rail!
