What does it mean to “Keep the Country, Country?”
As part of the Envision Lā‘ie process, residents were surveyed to determine their values, priorities, wants and needs. The 20-minute online survey was administered by Heart + Mind Strategies to 696 residents of Oahu. This included 174 in Ko‘olau Loa, 71 of them from Lā‘ie.
The survey touched on the local slogan “Keep the Country, Country.” The question said “There is a saying in the Ko‘olau Loa region, “Keep the country, country”. This saying means different things to different people. Which of the following best describes what this saying means to you?”
1)”Keep the country, country” means no growth or development of any kind.
2)”Keep the country, country” means “no” to any growth that attracts wealthy new home buyers into the area or more tourists but “yes” to growth that improves the quality of life for the families that live here.
An overwhelming majority, 75% of Ko‘olau Loa residents chose the second option.
Ko‘olau Loa is in need of change and growth. PCC and BYU-Hawaii are unsustainable in their current states. The population of Lā‘ie is declining because residents can’t afford to live here and a lack of jobs is forcing us to move or commute elsewhere.
Envision Lā‘ie is carefully considering all options for growth to ensure that it “improves the quality of life for the families that live here.” For more survey results, click here.
2 Comments
Clueless Says:
What will happen now that Envision Laie has gotten the Community Boards approval? As a Laie community member I am clueless as to how I can help this cause. It seems like punching buttons for surveys and standing in line to testify at the community meeting were the only ways to contribute. With the land that has the potential to be developed being owned privately and the community support now having been given, what more is there to do by the average community member? And who is financing the Affordable Housing project? Is it HRI? Their plan to develop Malaekahana presented a couple years ago seemed fantastic but failed. What’s different about this plan that will make it work better?
Just for the record, I think community members are expecting too much out of this “envision Laie” plan. To live in Laie, under the circumstances they are is a CHOICE. I admire and support those people who move away in order to make a better life for their families. I support development not because I expect affordable housing for my family but because I support a more sustainable future for our community.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:48 amKakela Beach Park Says:
I’ve thought a lot about what “Keep the country country” means as I see the bumper stickers every morning on peoples cars when I drive from my home in Hauula to work downtown. I’ve lived in Hauula since I was 6, that’s 23 years now. I often wonder if people know one of the ways this phrase became so popular.
I order to obstruct development on the North Shore, whether talking Turtle Bay or Sharks Cove Mall, certain local politicians mobilized a special group of people. These people included wealthy home owners along the North Shore – most of them you could say weren’t born on Oahu or aren’t “from” Oahu. These few people who have choice plots of land and homes in beautiful spots of Hawaii have a vested interest in the “non-development” of the country. If more homes etc. are built in the country their property value will go down.
These are the people who started the “Keep the country country.” They are the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) group. They already have their amazing real estate and don’t want anyone else to be able to crowd their quality location or lower their property value. This is disappointing since the movement to keep the country country appears to be one inspired by environmental and cultural preservation, but really by keeping the country country families who have lived here for generations have to have an average of 2.7 families living in one home. This doesn’t appear to be an idea initiated by local people living here for generations. There MUST be development if our children are going to continue to live in on the North Shore. But it must be a development driven by the people of the community who decide how, when, and where it is to happen. If not, we as a community are actually doing more damage than good since we are causing so much of what constitutes that spirit of the North Shore to leave. The mass exodus of people from Oahu to the mainland due to the cost of living and lack of housing is in large part a result of this desire to “Keep the country country.” I sure hope we figure this out.
Even though I believe in environmental and cultural preservation, I don’t believe “Keep the country country” is what those of us who call the North Shore home is what we really want to have as our mantra.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:14 amLeave Your Comment