COM 0679.000 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FUKE: Yeah, I think my comment was that when you look at the General Plan where you had additional commercial areas reflected on the revised or the current General Plan, at the same time they also expanded residential areas in other areas. SIRACUSA: Right. But, however, that doesn't address this neighborhood or the impacts of development on these particular neighbors. And I want to point out that you do have a push -me pull -me here because the General Plan also encourages affordable housing. And it seems to me that the two buildings on this Oshiro parcel, they don't look fancy enough to be anything other than affordable. So I, you know, stated before that I didn't feel comfortable taking affordable housing out of the market when we have such a tremendous need. And as I keep going around Hilo, I keep seeing more and more office space available. And so it doesn't seem to me that there is really a lack thereof. Meanwhile I look at, you know, the way the dark colors are encroaching on the yellow here; and I feel like it's just going to keep up a little at a time, and it's like the incredible green blob, you know, slowly creeping along. And Kilauea may be a major artery, and it is, and the traffic is terrible on it. And every time you open up another commercial zoning, it increases the traffic problem. There's more driveways going out from parking lots onto Kilauea. It slows down the traffic and it's already bad. If we keep bringing it more and more in the direction it's going, we're not going to be able to fix the problem at all. So I really have some major problems on a number of levels with this and I have voted against it in the past and I am going to be consistent. ALAMEDA: Thank you, Commissioner Siracusa. Other Commissioners before we entertain testimony from the public? Mr. Fuke, any other comments? FUKE: Well, just one comment, I guess. Like I think that we have to understand that the City of Hilo is growing; and so if there's a demand for affordable housing, then conversely there's also going to be a demand for commercial areas. So, ultimately, you'll have to ask yourself if not here where. And, you know, one of the things that provide the direction, you know, in terms of like where your commercial growth should be, is your General Plan. And so if the General Plan is wrong, then so be it; and, you know, there needs to be like effort taken to address that, and maybe amend the General Plan. But at the same time we need to figure out like where you're going to put your commercial areas. Cause any city is a dynamic city; it's going to grow whether you like it or not. I mean, you know, we have our personal reservations about whether we want more people coming in from the mainland and from the rest of the world into Hawaii and all that stuff; but I can't really see any legal ways that you can prevent that. And so as long as you have, you know, we're living in this western democracy. I mean, like how you're going to be able to say that's no more? And if so, like where, you know, where you're going to be able to direct that? And I think that the whole premise behind planning is that you recognize that growth is going to occur. But the question is how do you and where do you direct it to? SIRACUSA: I would like to clarify that I was not suggesting that we limit immigration into the state or ask our people to stop making babies. What I am concerned about is that, you know, we look at some of the outside areas and we talk about putting some commercial development inside the subdivision so that people don't have to go out on the highway, drive to Hilo or drive a long distance and spew carbon monoxide into the air because they can get things within a short distance from home. And here we have a whole residential area where people can walk to, say, the Hilo Shopping Center and get what they need. And if you slowly change that