I take exception to the Aug. 12 Viewpoint written by Jeremy Kozuki, chairman of the Maui Planning Commission. He states that The Maui News was unfair in an Aug. 5 article on how the commission meetings are run.

The article was well-written and to the point because that is the perception the public has of the planning commission. The reporter was kind, I thought, because one only has to watch Akaku: Community Television to see how ridiculous and unorganized the planning commission meetings are.

Within the last several years the county Planning Department and the planning commission have approved projects that should have been denied. It seems the pro-development forces have run amok. Who loses? We all do.

Everything is strained, and the people who are supposed to be controlling the growth worry only about where the next buck is coming from. Kozuki speaks about controls the Planning Department imposes on development to "protect resources and provide for the community needs." Sometimes, the only way to protect the resources and provide for the community needs is to just say no. That will help.

Something is definitely wrong in our county with the planning process and the vision that will take us into the future. Let's hope that our mayor and the County Council can clean up this mess.

Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr.

Pukalani

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