North Shore NewsI first want to say congratulations to North Shore’s own Luke Shepardson for his success at the Eddie, and mahalo Luke for serving our community as a Honolulu Ocean Safety lifeguard. I also want to acknowledge and mahalo all of the wāhine that competed in the Eddie, making this the first competition to have women participating.
Early this month our office also joined several City Departments at the Phase 1 Cleanup of Waialeʻe Beach (Velzyland). I want to say mahalo to everyone that helped with removing four truckloads of trash, twenty-five vehicles, six motorcycles, one trailer, and one moped. Our office will continue to work with the Departments to complete the Phase 2 Cleanup and provide you with updates along the way. I have also been working with the City to increase funding for our area provider that serves our households experiencing homelessness.
It was great to join the Wahiawā Lions and Mililani Leos at their Haleʻiwa Aliʻi Beach Park Cleanup, which was supported by the City’s Adopt-A-Park Program. I am always impressed by the youth in our community and their willingness to step up and serve. If your organization is interested in adopting a park or organizing an event, you can call (808) 768-3034 or email citypksvolunteer@ honolulu.gov.
I also know that many of us have seen a dramatic increase in our home’s valuation. District 2 in particular was hit with the highest increases. One of my main concerns is keeping folks from being priced out of their home due to increasing property tax bills. I believe that now is the right time to increase the home exemption for homeowners to reduce the burden on our families and kūpuna.
Many in our community have also been asking Wahiawa Lions, Mililani Leos, and Matt Weyer’s office at Hale‘iwa Ali‘i BeachPark Cleanup about Bill 10 (2022), which involves amendments to our City’s Land Use Ordinance. Bill 10 is currently referred to the Committee on Planning and the Economy. Our office will continue to provide updates on the bill’s progress. If you have ideas or amendments that you would like to see, please send them to our office. We intend to fight for a Bill 10 that protects our community’s quality of life and supports local agriculture. Earlier in January I joined Chair Waters in co-introducing Resolution 23-003, which affirms our City’s commitment to our renewable energy goals.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about how to better support our community. You can reach me by phone at (808) 768-5002 or by email at mweyer@honolulu.gov.