The Hawaiʻi County General Plan serves as a roadmap for the island's priorities.
The county's Planning Department has been working on the latest version for more than 10 years. Late last spring, the department submitted a 310-page draft to the Hawaiʻi County Council for review and adoption.
That document draws on feedback from more than 100 community meetings and 8,600 public comments.
At a committee hearing last month, Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz of Lower Puna and Pāhoa introduced an amendment to the draft that proposes a much slimmer version of the plan.
Kierkiewicz said that she wanted to ensure the general plan was user-friendly and actionable.
"If we put everything in the general plan, and we say all of these things are our priorities, guess what? Nothing is important anymore," she said.
But Planning Director Jeff Darrow raised concerns that this version was a "complete rewrite" and lacked the same community input.
"I would suggest holding public hearings around the island to provide an opportunity for public comments on this newly proposed draft," Darrow told the council.
The Planning and Land Use Committee will take up this matter again on Tuesday.
