COM 0560.007 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Testimony for the Planning Committee of the Hawaii Island County Council, May 4, 2004. My name is Amy Mahealani Jones. I live on Liko Lehua Street at its intersection with Wiliwili Street on the north border of the proposed development. I have lived in my house for 22 years. I testified against the proposal at the Planning Commission meeting in which the zoning change for the area called University Terrace was forwarded to the Council. I come to testify again today. I am against the proposed development for many reasons. My colleagues and teammates are presenting testimony on some of these reasons today. I will limit my testimony to two main points: 1. I am concerned about the present level of flooding in the entire area, and any exacerbation of the current problems that would be caused by more development in this watershed. It's boggy back there in the forested area behind my house. I've walked into the forest during drought season, and the soil is still damp. I've wondered for years if there is water surfacing somewhere out there, and while I don't have proof, I think it probably is. I learned from doing my research about this area that this part of Hilo and up mauka is too new for stream beds to have become well-established. Instead, in many areas when there is enough rain, the water flows in sheets on the surface of the land. We can see evidence of this on Komohana Street and other places. The sheet flow does not continue all the way to the ocean. In some places water joins river beds, such as the Alenaio, but in many places it disappears into the soil, and into lava tubes. Lava tubes can move water quickly, and from lava tubes water often resurface as a spring. There are two streets on the northern border of the proposed subdivision, Waipuna Street and Spring Street. Hawaiians often gave place names because of land features there. Waipuna means an upwelling, or spring of fresh water. That gives us a good clue as to what was, or is still here, and the natural condition of the land. The current developer plans to make dry wells on the property to handle excessive runoff. When water finds lava tubes, or when dry wells are used, where does that water resurface? I attended the community meeting about the proposed 116 acre development up on Wilder Road, and at that meeting I asked the water engineer for both projects if he knows where the water comes up again from dry wells or lava tubes in this watershed. He couldn't answer me. What if it comes up downtown, or more to the point, what if more water surfaces downtown, like it has before in the basement of Spencer's or Koehnen's, or many of the other businesses there? Is it responsible to make a decision to reroute the course of water to this degree in an area already taxed by flooding issues? Doesn't it make more sense to understand water flow in this area before manipulating it Comm. No. SpV Ref. To: Preweted Ref. Date