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A Message From the Chapter President - Summer 2018

About Resiliency

I hope you all sustained the passing of Hurricane Lane with little distress.  Although Lane was fortunately a near miss for many of us, there were communities throughout the State that were adversely affected.  The recent passing of Hurricane Lane brings to mind the role planners may play in resiliency planning for natural disasters.  Our state has seen more than its share of disruptive natural events this year, from volcanic eruptions on Hawaii island, flooding on Kauai and Oahu earlier this year, and the recent passing with Hurricane Lane.  As was discussed in the most recent issue of Planning magazine, resiliency is not a plan, but rather systems and actions layered into all parts of a city and its agencies.  Collaboration and coordination are key aspects, as are specific efforts to include vulnerable populations. While the breadth of resiliency planning spreads far beyond the realm of the traditional planning profession, we each can contribute to actions and projects within our sphere of influence to enhance resiliency in our communities.

By the way, in case you missed it, an article in the August/September issue of Planning described the impact of the volcanic eruptions on Hawaii island, the regulatory context, and a planner’s role in preparing for such natural disasters.  The article can be found here: https://www.planning.org/planning/2018/aug/news/

HCPO, Awards Programs, and CM Sessions

Unfortunately, HCPO had to be cancelled this year since Hawaii County staff are very busy handling the disruptions caused by the Kilauea eruption.  The chapter is working to reschedule events that were planned to be held during HCPO.

The Awards Program will be held in conjunction with our Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 4 at Bethel Union.  Keep an eye out for an email providing more information about the Annual Meeting.  Thanks to Tessa Munekiyo Ng, Nathalie Razo, and Jared Chang for coordinating the Awards Program and to our jurors this year-- Priyam Das, Amy Luersen, and Brad Kurokawa.

Many members also look forward to HCPO to obtain CM credit to maintain AICP status.  The chapter is planning to offer a Planning Law session later this year that will meet CM requirements.  For those who need Planning Ethics credits, or credits in general, a number of free CM on Demand courses can be found at planning.org under the AICP/Certification Maintenance heading.

Planning Director’s Forum – Save the Date!

Another event that many look forward to at HCPO is the Planning Director’s forum.  The Directors of the county planning departments and Office of Planning have graciously agreed to participate in a Planning Director’s forum to be held on Friday, November 16.  We will be distributing more information about this event as the date approaches.

New Website

Please check out the chapter’s new website at Hawaii.planning.org.  Thanks to Erin Higa for working with the folks at APA National to design the website!  Our goal is that the website will be the central place for members to learn about upcoming events and news relevant to planning in Hawaii.  We’ll be adding new content to the website in the upcoming months so be sure to check back periodically.