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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Murashige, Laura <br /> <br /> From: Alex Woodbury [woodburya001@hawaii.rr.com) <br /> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 7:53 PM <br /> To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us <br /> Subject: WCDPC Pu'u Development Testimony <br /> Attachments: DSCN0003.JPG, DSCN0004.JPG, DSCN0011.JPG, DSCN0016.JPG <br /> w <br /> <br /> <br /> DSCN0003JPG DSCN0004.JPG DSCN0011.JPG DSCN0016.JPG <br /> (718 KB) (844 KB) (766 KB) (741 KB) <br /> I Alex Woodbury, <br /> Would like to submit testimony concerning the development of the Pu'u areas above waimea <br /> homesteads neighborhood. <br /> while this land is arguably the most valuable potential real estate in Waimea for its <br /> location and views, it is not appropriate for development. <br /> For a variety of reasons, <br /> <br /> I'll focus on a few that are strictly building related. <br /> <br /> I run a successful home inspection business here on the big island and I routinely come <br /> across locations that have been developed but are truly not suitable locations for <br /> development and residential development at that. <br /> The land extending from waimea town to the state forest reserve is largely thick rich <br /> alluvial soil. It drains very poorly as we here in waimea have all observed with our <br /> recent flooding from surface water runoff, and it is apparently much less stable in <br /> seismic activity as has been revealed in the very recent past. The most extensive damage <br /> that I have observed in my Earthquake Damage Assessment Inspections recently is <br /> concentrated to those areas where houses have been built on unstable soil types such as <br /> our right waimea dirt. The soil is expansive, compacts poorly and can become structurally <br /> denuded once the moisture content reaches a certain level. <br /> Having no real drainage infrastructure in the neighborhoods below, and no apparent all <br /> encompassing plan to improve it, widen the existing road infrastructure and provide for <br /> compensation to the existing area residents for annexation and easement, I cannot see how <br /> on Earth such proposed development can be seriously addressed. <br /> With regard to flooding, recent development has been clearly shown to increase rain water <br /> runoff as a result of impermeable surfaces such as roofs driveways and roads. Developing <br /> the land above waimea homesteads neighborhood would certainly magnify the already <br /> significant flooding problem in the existing neighborhood and community which our county <br /> department of public works has failed to address. <br /> Mahalo, <br /> <br /> Alex Woodbury <br /> <br /> Woodbury Home Inspection Service Inc. <br /> 65-1170 Spencer Rd <br /> Kamuela Hawaii 96743 <br /> 808-322-5174 Fax 322-5178 Cell 640-1566 <br /> woodburya00lhawaii.rr.com <br /> http://www. woodburyhawaii.com/index.html Comm. No. Q O ,y <br /> Ref. To: preseehd <br /> 1 Ref. Gate 1 2006 <br />