Monday, September 17, 2007
Magic Island Update
The Outdoor Circle has stepped away from the ongoing discussions about the proposed removal and relocation of trees at Magic Island. We have done so because we believe the recent statements made by the city which state that no trees will be removed or relocated to accommodate the Blue Planet Festival concerts. We stand by our public statements on this matter but we believe it is counter productive to continue a conversation over a matter that has been settled.
We have formally asked the City to refrain from issuing statements that are not supported by the facts. Chief among the misleading statements about Blue Planet Festival’s proposal is the repeated comment that the City “never gave the idea any consideration.”
The fact is that the City has given long, hard consideration to the proposal. Finally that consideration resulted in the proposal being rejected. But for the City to state that it wasn’t even considered is simply not the case. On the contrary, according to Les Chang (Director of Parks and Recreation) and others, DPR staff was involved in multiple discussions with Blue Planet. In addition, we were specifically told that a City landscape architect/arborist had been involved in working to identify specific locations on Magic Island where trees worthy of relocation might be planted.
When we received the anonymous letter raising concerns about the Blue Planet Festival we had several discussions with Les Chang and others within City government. In those conversations we were repeatedly told that the City has been meeting and working off and on with Blue Planet for months. The head of the Division of Urban Forestry hosted one of our staff members on a tour of Magic Island and pointed out 15 trees that the City was considering removing and/or relocating. Of those trees only five showed serious signs of being burned by charcoal. We were told the remaining trees would block the view planes of concert patrons and television cameras.
Following the tour, representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation, Urban Forestry, and three representatives of the Blue Planet Festival met with our President Betsy Connors, Bob Loy and me. At the meeting we were informed that in addition to the 15 trees shown to us on the tour, at least four other trees also would have to be relocated or the concert could not be held. At no time in this meeting did anyone state that the tree removal/relocation proposal was not being considered by the City. In fact it was repeatedly stated that the “targeted” trees would be removed and/or relocated at the expense of Blue Planet and that in addition, Blue Planet would provide a mitigation package of “community benefits” that would likely include providing the resources to plant many more trees at locations of the City’s choosing.
This discussion is well documented in detailed notes taken during the meeting. The notes show that the City was considering the Blue Planet proposal and had spent significant time and resources examining it to determine how it might be executed.
There is one other clarification which must be made. The Mayor and his representatives continue to boast of the City’s status as a “Tree City USA.” Honolulu should be proud of its position and flaunt it as much as possible. However, this status is one that we’ve held for more than 20-years and comes from the Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm) and not from the US Conference of Mayors.
It is our desire to move past this issue and continue working on what we do best – the protection and enhancement of the beauty of Honolulu.