COM 0045.051 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Testimony Relating to Bill 163-Draft 3 November 19, 2004 Chairman Leningrad Elarionoff and Hawaii County Council Planning Committee Members Aloha Council Members, Councilman Fred Holschuh encouraged us to submit the following testimony relating to Bill 163--Draft 3 for your consideration. Our concerns relate to the construction of two multi-level 5000 square foot homes currently being built in Kukuihaele adjacent to the Waipi'o Lookout on agricultural zoned land. These houses are being built on 2 lots, both about one acre in size. We have had discussions with Planning Director Chris Yuen, Engineering Chief Galen Kuba, and Building Department Head, Brian Kajikawa expressing the feeling that houses of this size are inappropriate for a location considered as a special scenic area, a major tourist attraction and an icon of our island. Unfortunately, we have been told that nothing can be done to prevent continuation of the project in its current form. Except fora 35 foot height limit above newly elevated house pads, there is nothing under current County law which prevents the lot from being completely changed and the houses from being completed as designed. This testimony is submitted to help encourage the creation of ordinances and standards which prevent this scenario from reoccurring. Note, our discussions with Kukuihaele neighbors indicate that they are troubled with what is happening. This testimony, however, is ours and does not necessarily represent the views of the community or other groups. We have been following the progress of this project since initial grading began during the last week of September. It has not been our intention to prevent building on the site. Our hope, when we began tracking the progress of the project in early October, was that the owner/developer would NOT be able to make whatever changes he wanted with the land, block neighbors' views, and build any size house. We understood that the County has planning and construction review permit processes in place which would ensure proper review and compliance with at least reasonable standards. It now, unfortunately, appears that we were wrong. Here is the history of what has happened: After viewing initial grading in late September, we called the County Public Works Department to determine what was going to happen on the property. We provided the TMK numbers, 4-8-004-036 & 4-8-004-025, which we obtained from the County website along with the name of the owner-Yapia LLC with a Boulder Colorado address, to the Building Department. We were told that no permit had been approved. On October 8, after viewing major earth moving and elevation changes to the property, including 2multi-level, elevated house pads, we visited the Public Works Departure t~ S Comm. No. Ref. To: ~fes8otsd Ref. Uate N 1