Although the Sierra Club questioned whether Peter Young would favor developers as director of the Department of Land & Natural Resources, a Senate committee unanimously approved Gov. Linda Lingle's nomination yesterday. Senate committee approves
Lingle’s pick for land chiefPeter Young awaits a confirmation
vote from the state SenateBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
A majority of the testimony before the Senate Water, Land and Agriculture Committee yesterday supported Young, a former real estate appraiser who most recently was Hawaii County deputy managing director.
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Having been approved by the five-member committee, Young's confirmation must be voted on by the Senate. No vote has been scheduled.
Those advocating for Young touted his fairness and balance in dealing with complex situations and respectful treatment of all points of view.
"He is not rash to make decisions, and he is very fair and balanced in his judgments," said Maelia Loebenstein Carter, kumu hula for Ka Pa Hula o Kauanoe O Waahila. "I believe that as a keiki o ka aina, a child of this land, he is sensitive to native Hawaiian issues as well. ... He is concerned about the environment and how our Hawaii can grow in this modern world while retaining our ideology of 'malama aina.'"
Young's opponents, including Sierra Club Director Jeff Mikulina, questioned his judgment in relation to the Big Island's Hokulia residential development, pointing to two incidents:
>> In December 2001, Young, as Hawaii County deputy managing director, touted the development's golf course as "one of the most environmentally sensitive golf courses in Hawaii" after a judge had ruled that a massive runoff of sediment from the course into Kealakekua Bay was the fault of the developer.
>> In one of his first actions as DLNR director-designate, Young issued a decision Jan. 28 that allows the Hokulia development to build closer to burial sites on Puu Ohau than some descendants had wanted.
Young said his decision on allowing the development to build closer to burial sites had to be made quickly, or a judge would do it.
"I would rather have talked about it some more (with involved parties) to come up with a decision," he said.
Young said he stands behind his statement that the now-complete Hokulia golf course is environmentally friendly, because it has a drainage system to prevent runoff into the bay. But "that's not a defense of what happened in the past" -- the fact that the developer caused siltation in the bay because of poor runoff control during construction.
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