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h u~q~ ~ !F~1~~,3~1•I~~d~. f3flP~A@I. 7~5 • TL~t.I~'fl3 ~2z•~".~~~ <br /> 7/25/07 <br /> <br /> Re: Testimony opposing Bill St, Drafts #4 and #S <br /> Good morning Council members, <br /> My name is Robert Nespor. I am the President of the American Institute of Architects, Hawaii Island Section. <br /> The Titanic, ladies and gentlemen, ...the largest, fastest, and safest ship ever built ...yes °the - <br /> a5 fast ship <br /> ever built unsinkable! " Yet we all know the tragic fate of this magnificent vessel. The ship didn't go down <br /> because it wasn't safe, it went down due to human error. Our history books tell the story with 20/20 hind sight. <br /> Officers on the crew cautioned the Captain of the potential perils ahead, and yet, a deadline to set the record for <br /> the Atlantic crossing was the Captain's justification for °full speed ahead." <br /> Council members have asked whether progress is being made to fine tune the worc6ng in the recently proposed <br /> amendments. You have asked, should we try to preserve atI the hard work put into this Biil? To draw an analogy <br /> with the Titanic, essentially, wad-smithing applied to a flawed Bill is like re-arranging the deck chairs ai the Titanic <br /> as the ship rushes "full speed ahead " Carnal members are the respected Captains of our community that we are <br /> depending upon to slow the ship down and set a cause that wfli ultimately reach our goal in a safe manner. Once <br /> the course of Bill 51 is changed to include the essence of Draft # 1, we trust our Councl to cartinue to address <br /> potential flooding issues by taking the first step, that is, to fund a forensic study to determine the actual cause of <br /> specific flooding occurrences that have been brought to the attention of our Councl. T~ iS *_he ime to act on <br /> Draft #7" <br /> Flood Zone X It is not fair, nor practical, that all home and farm owners who have buiR slab on grade within this <br /> ubiquitous designation for the past decades, who have never experienced flooding, but would be required to build <br /> as much as 2 feet above the ground if they were ever to remodel. Is it fair that their existing slab on grade homes <br /> will no longer be compliant and therefore unable to ohtain flood insurance? Now what happens to our existing <br /> mortgages when we suddenly are classified to be in a flood hazard zone? Imagine, all housing and commeraal <br /> buildings being built on stilts. Imagine our super markets, our warehouses, shopping centers, gas stations, medical <br /> buildings and convalescent homes, all built on stilts! <br /> A current commeraal project in Pepeekeo that will fulfill that small community's need for a convenience store, gas <br /> station, restaurant, retail and office space will hit the iceberg and go down if the BiII passes in it's present form. <br /> This will be the inevitable fate to our communities across the entire island. <br /> In summary, I fully support the AiA position in this matter. That is, first, please do what is necessary at this time <br /> to be compliant with the National Flood Inwrance Program, secardiy, appropriate funds for a forensic study to <br /> determine the cause of the most serious flooring occurrences, third, reform any deficiencies that are found in <br /> Chapter 27 resulting from the study by an appropriate code review process, and fourth, move forward with <br /> legislation and/or capital improvement projects that are aimed directly at the true problems. <br /> Thank you fo y ur~/Ly' iron, <br /> 0 / <br /> 3obert Nespor, AIA <br /> Comm. No. ~ 7`' ~S~ <br /> Ref. Tor ~~'ae~ a,n ' <br /> Ref. Date ~ <br /> <br />