It’s hard to get things done in Hawaii, but it’s nearly impossible to get things undone.
And people know this. They exploit it. They rush to push projects, build buildings and develop developments before anyone holds them to rules. It is understood that once the foundation is poured, the pillars are up and the politicians are paid, no one has the energy or aptitude to make them take everything down and start over right.
Some examples:
The Symphony high-rise condo coming up next to the Blaisdell is a tower of highly reflective, almost-mirror glass that keeps being built despite complaints, public meetings and bureaucratic hand-wringing over the fact that the glass doesn’t meet rules for development in the area.
What are the chances that the glass is going to come down or be changed out?
About as good as the chances that City Council rail revotes will somehow undo the rail project.
This malignant tendency to let bygones be bygones and, worse, to throw good money after bad, led directly to the Ciber Inc. mess. When it was clear the company hired to put in a new computer system for the state Highways Division wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do, the state’s only course of action was to give it more money. Of course, it sounds like there was more than passivity and conflict-avoidance in that case.
This inaction is how the Kakaako homeless camp became a homeless camp. The folks staking tents along the sidewalks knew darn well that it would take a long time for anyone to ask them to move along. Months passed before the various landowners in the area were basically shamed into doing something. Until then the population of the shantytown grew with impunity. Now that they’re being forced to move out of one zone, they’re simply crossing the street, certain in their knowledge that they will be undisturbed for many weeks to come.
The Mauna Kea protesters felt a measure of vindication when state Supreme Court justices asked pointed questions about why the Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a permit for the TMT project before holding a contested case hearing. The judges sounded more like referees throwing flags on the plays. How could such a thing have happened? It’s Hawaii. That’s how.
OK, so before the smartypants students start raising their hands and yelling out "Superferry!" — yes, that was a rare exception where the failure to follow rules before launch came back to scuttle the project. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the hasty law allowing the Superferry to operate without a second environmental impact statement was unconstitutional. Rather than go back and follow the rules, Superferry went out of business, thus serving as ammunition for all future rule-flouters: "This project is too far along now. Do you really want to Superferry us?"
Other than that one glaring example, it’s pretty safe to assume that rules were made for rule-followers, and rule-followers don’t often get things done in this state.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
