FIRST I WILL GIVE A LITTLE HISTORY, THEN DETAIL VARIOUS ISSUES THAT EFFECT PEOPLE THAT LIVE OR WANT TO LIVE IN FERN FOREST
Some History :
Fern Forest Hawaii has a rich history. It started in 1881 when Shipman Limited and two others (Captain Eldarts and S.M. Damon) bought 70,000 acres for $20,000 from King Lunalilo. This included the Fern Forest area. Eventually it was made into a subdivision and rough roads were put in. The subdivision started with just a few people. It was very rugged and the Wild West back then. All the way up to the 1990s there were no phones or decent roads. In fact, the roads were so rugged you had to drive around with a chainsaw to be able to get home sometimes. Often there would be a fallen tree blocking the road, so you would have to cut it up in order to get in or out. There were no phones, so everyone used a CB. The channel for the forest was 22.
In the 1970s an organisation formed in the Fern Forest community. I am not going to go into too much history of the Fern Forest Community Association (FFCA) here, but will give the basics. I will say that it started in Oct. 1978 and its' Articles of Incorporation state that it's purpose is," To improve the quality of life the Fern Forest Subdivision by initiating physical improvements on common property within the subdivision and by initiating other projects for the common benefit of fern forest residents and land owners." By the term common property, it means the property owned by the FFCA belongs to its' members in common. At that time its' members were those whom paid a annual membership fee to join. In April 1991 the FFCA obtained a judgement for mandatory road maintenance only. It was set at $15 per year and was the jurisdiction of the court to raise it, not the Board. They violated that the first year by charging $25. They also rewrote the bylaws without a membership vote to include all lot owners and exclude residents. Since then they have rewritten so many times without membership input. Then they created another organisation called the Community Development Hui of Fern Forest (Hui) out of the FFCA judgement money, and transferred the deed to the community lot to the Hui. Anyone can look at the Hawaii County property Tax search site and see the Captain's Drive (Ala Kapena) community property was sold back and forth between the two organisations several times. Sometimes it was zero, once it was $20,000. Very odd indeed. They locked us out of the community lot around 2010? and gated it off around 2017. That was tragic. We used to have farmers markets, holiday celebrations and things there. I actually put in a basket pole which they cut down and turned into an electric pole. So much for them improving the quality of life. No, they are too busy kicking people out of the s turn now after they took our lot from us. But we, the lot owners, own it. We need to get an injunction to reopen after CoVid passes.
There are many more examples, but this is just a few. When I, Thunderfoot pointed it out, they transferred the deed back to FFCA emptied the Hui bank account, (yes I have the Bank statements), and dissolved the Hui. The Hui bylaws required the money be distributed back to its' members upon dissolution, not drain the account and give the rest to the FFCA. That was an act that demonstrated their guilty. On another occasion they lost accounting to the amount of $72,000. So, these are just a few facts that have evidence to support. Also, anytime people point out these oddities, they are harassed and, slandered, libelled and worse. Currently, they have an expired judgement listed as their purpose at the State of Hawaii DCCA. That alone says everything. Anyone that wants to know more about this, or wants to see proof, just contact me from the contact page info.
Important Issues :
I will go down some main issues, in no particular order (This page is still under construction ) :
Issues below include : The "s" turn area, roads versus easements, waving at your neighbours, clear-cutting the forest, many people moving here due to CoVid, we live in a rainforest, illegitimate street name changes, vog (volcanic gases), lack of zip code issue, living on Big island Hawaii In Puna realities
1.) The "s"turn issue - at the top of Captain's Drive ( illegally changed to Ala Kapena) before the county road starts, is an area where many people park and sit. It is the only place that locals would gather to sell their lettuce, or do a garage sale, or just hang out and play music for the past over 30 years. Over the years people from the mainland started moving in and wanted to change our culture. they locked us out of our community lot that we own collectively, and proceeded to bully the members out of their rights. Since the 1990s, the FFCA has tried to harass people off that area because they claim everyone is a derelict. First that is judgemental, and second that is just wrong. Many people sit there today to get wifi reception because they cannot get it at their house, this includes college students trying to do their work. So, for them to categorise everyone as a derelict and then conspire to call the police every time they see people sitting there is way out of line. They have no authority to do that, so they went to the owner of the property and lied to get his permission to call the police. I, Thunderfoot, spoke to the Police recently in 2021 9because they are trying again to kick people out of the "s" turn) and they told me they have no intention of kicking people out of there, it is public domain now. But that they would arrest people if they had warrants. Okay, that makes sense. But the FFCA Board are not representing the people of the forest, but their personal agendas and prejudices. In fact as a community entity, aren't they supposed to help the less fortunate. That alone says they are acting with elitism. Also, the "s" turn is a school bus stop, and the church delivers food there for the less fortunate, so they want to stop that. Only the coldest hearts would turn away help for there needy. If they will do that in plain sight, imagine what they are doing behind closed doors ?
2. ) Roads versus easements issue - The County, nor the FFCA owns the roads or the easements, and they are separate. Judge Freitas told the FFCA in a lawsuit in 2017 that the easement is the property of the home owner and that if they spray poison that causes damage or damage it at all, they can be sued. The roads are owned collectively by all lot owners and there is a land deed with land court. It is defined as " Lot 8214- a 50 ' roadway containing 231.789 acres to be used in common with others entitled thereto for roadway and utility purposes as shown on said Map 52 filed with Land Court Land Application No. 1053 (amended) WH Shipman, Limited " "Block A". That means that the lot owners own the roadways in fern Forest subdivision.
3. ) Waving at your neighbours - It has always been the custom to wave at people when you drive past them in the forest whether you know them or not. So, if you are new and wondering why people are waving, wonder no longer and please wave back.
4.) Clear-cutting land issue - Please do not clear cut your entire 3 acres lot. There are rare plants that grow only in our forest and no where else in the world. Plus, no one wants to move out here because it is beautiful, then watch it turn into suburban area with no privacy between us. Why move here to make it look like where you just left ? We live in a rare rainforest, and we should cherish it. rainforest are already disappearing at an alarming rate. And if everyone clear cuts, it could change our rainfall and effect our environment in many ways. The trees filter our air too, for example. Plus, we have the Hawaiian hawk and other rare species to protect.
5.) Many people moving to Hawaii now due to CoVid - These people should rethink this because most people during pandemics move to areas with little populations to increase their chances, not to a place where millions of people come to from around the world with every variant strain you can imagine. We are a swimming pool for diseases. Plus, there are no jobs, and sub-par medical care, not to mention poor infrastructure like emergency and postal services. And don't forget how expensive it is here. Many people move here, just to move back because they did not do their homework, or they did and thought it would be different. And let us not forget the constant reality every time we go to the store we hope the shelves have what we want. So, Hawaii sounds nice, but the reality is a different story. The cost to even make a driveway on vacant land is more than what people anticipate, so by the time they do that, they have no money to do anything else. So, think twice before moving here is the reality.
6.) We live in a rainforest - expect rain mostly every day. It can rain for months on end here. I counted four months straight once, but this year 2021 has that beat. Yes, we get some sunny days, but they are few and far between. There have been some dry spells, but after 30 years out here, there was only one time I had to order water. That should tell you something.
7.) Illegitimate change of Street names - The County and FFCA Board has conspired to violate our Constitutional property rights to control and enjoy our property, the roads, illegitimately changed many of the street names. There will be a lawsuit over this soon.
Originally the streets were named after the first family or person that lived on them. Either their CB handle or last name became the name of the street. But Caroline Frazier came along and decided all the streets should sound Hawaiian and began changing them with the County without a proper vote. First off since all lot owners own a percentage in all the roads and their legal interest is defined by having interest. That means every lot owner has a legal interest in every road whether you live on them or not. Further, the person requesting the name change should not be the one(s) balloting, collecting, counting and reporting the results. that is a conflict of interest. Further, the abstention votes are legal NO votes and can legally be seen as a form of protest. None of this was considered. Still further the FFCA has economic advantages and influence, also a conflict of interest. And yet still further, the State law says the County has no "control" over private agricultural roads, and cannot even enforce traffic ordinances much less be involved validating an election to change the street names. So, currently the roads are changed illegally and this is causing confusion for deliveries and emergency services. This could become a very serious situation. if anyone has trouble and damages caused by this, then you could possibly have lawsuit against the FFCA and the County. I am not a lawyer, but this is not rocket science.
8.) Vog - Volcanic gases - can be a danger in our area at times. It is basically air pollution of sulphur dioxide mixed with other gases caused by the volcanic activity. Many people keep a chemical respirator mask with cartridges on hand in case of an emergency. Be sure to keep your cartridges up to date, they do have expiration dates. Keep in mind if you ever have to use it, there is a time limit for the cartridges to absorb toxic gases as well, I think it is 45 minutes for type that I have.
You can visit a Hawaii State Dept of Health website link that contains more information about vog and its' hazards, how to protect yourself, symptoms of exposure and more HERE
9.) Lack of zip code issue - Currently the ten of Glenwood has been left without a zip code. This is causing great confusion. if you google us you get Pahoa's zip code, while residents use either Mountain View or Volcano Zip codes. Glenwood used to have a post office at Hirano store, but it closed prior to the USPS issuing zip codes, so we never got one. It is clear Glenwood is a town because we have Glenwood Transfer Station and then up the highway is north and south Glenwood roads. the problem is the USPS is no longer funded by the Federal government, so this creates a lack of funding for new construction. All the post offices around are area were built between 1958 and 1968-ish. So, there is no way that these post offices can accommodate the population now, much less handle our recent increases. Putting in private boxes, or mail box stations in the subdivisions won't work because of theft. Even if we did that people still have to go to the post office to mail things and get stamps. Four people have died at the Mountain View Post Office and the only thing that happened was a stop sign. Petitions and writing Congresswoman San Joy Buenaventura did nothing. Writing the USPS post master general didn't even get a response, so that says they don't care. Our only recourse now is to ban together and approach the County. According to USPS rules, they can request a new zip code boundary. And there are other communities that need this too, like Hawaiian Paradise Park.
10.) Living on Big island of Hawaii in Puna realities - There are many things about living on the Big island that people should consider before moving here. First of all it is very expensive to live here. There is poor health care. People fly to Oahu or abroad for good health care, especially surgery. There are a limited amount of good doctors and many are not even taking new patients.We have an ageing under equipped medical system that is not built to handle the massive population explosion.
The same goes for our one lane highways full of potholes. Then add all the tourist cars to the highway, and traffic is a nightmare during rush hours, and even when it isn't, people don't exactly drive well here. Plus the roads are often wet and dangerously slick with drop offs near the shoulders in many areas, or cliffs, or falling rock areas.
Then there is the issue of trying to get a post office box so you can get your mail. Having mail box stations or boxes at your property was rejected by residents due to the thievery and vandalism issues we have here. The waiting list for most boxes is two or more years.
Someone needs to home at all times, especially when you are building, there is a real problem with thieves here. People have had their entire water tanks stolen, and they had water in it when they left to go to work. So, it is a real problem everywhere.
This brings me to the fact that most people in Puna are on water catchment here, there is no County water. Also, there is electric, but they make it super expensive to hook up to it. many people go solar.
There is also no street lights, and only Captain's Drive was paved by the County. The rest of the roads are gravel and dirt.
Our subdivision is agriculturally zoned, so people should not think suburbia out here. It is an hour drive to Hilo to get to a real store versus convenient store.
Also, another issue here, is many times when I go to town, and this has been one since forever, some supplies are limited. Many of the goods we consume are brought in by ship. Although we have had earthquakes and other issues effect shipments, the supply issue can be unpredictable due to many other reasons. For example, many shippers know the stores are at their mercy and they often don't get what they ordered, or get things they didn't order because they know it is unlikely to get sent back for obvious reasons. This effects what products get put on the shelves. So, don't be alarmed if you go to the store and they are out of an item you wanted. that is normal here.
Next topic is earthquakes since we just mentioned them. We get lots of them daily. So, earthquakes are a real threat here along with : the volcano's gas, ash and lava, tsunamis, and hurricanes to deal with. So, Hawaii might be a beautiful place, but there are a lot of challenges in living here.
This brings me to the sub-standard education system. This is not the place to put your child in the public school system.
There is also the lack of jobs and if your job is outdoors then it will be effected by the multitude of rainy days we get.
Then there is the overtaxation. Safety inspection stickers and a mileage charge on top of vehicle registration is ridiculous. Many Counties have found ways to make money with taxing their citizens to death. Plus, there is the corruption here that will blow your mind on top of lazy government workers. Good luck getting anyone to really do their job or honour the Constitution.
So, there you go, obstacles that most people that just move here are unaware of. This is why many people that move here, move back to where they came from.