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gym' a,,.,,. <br /> LAND USE RESEARCH <br /> FOUNDATION OF HAWAII <br /> 70o Bishop Street, Ste. 19x8 <br /> Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 <br /> Phone 5u-4717 ~ <br /> Fax 536-0132 <br /> November 6, 2007 <br /> The Honorable Pete Hoffman <br /> Council Chair & Presiding Officer <br /> and Members of the Hawaii County Council <br /> 333 Kilauea Avenue, 2nd Floor Council Room <br /> Hilo, Hawaii 96720 counciltestimonv2~co.hawaii.hi.us <br /> RE: Bill 151, Draft 2, Amendment to Chapter 27, Flood Control, Hawaii County <br /> Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as Amended) <br /> Dear Chair Hoffman and Council Members, <br /> My name is David Arakawa, Executive Director of the Land Use Research <br /> Foundation of Hawaii ("LURE"), a private, non-profit research and trade association <br /> <br /> whose members include major Hawaii landowners, developers and a utility company. <br /> One of LURF's missions is to advocate for reasonable and rational land use planning, <br /> legislation and regulation affecting common issues in Hawaii, including, but not limited to <br /> infrastructure, housing, development, and transportation. <br /> LURE supports storm water management legislation which is based on federal and <br /> state requirements, and would also support additional requirements which are based on <br /> scientific or engineering principles, practices and considerations. <br /> LURE supports flood control legislation which is based on federal and state <br /> requirements, and would also support additional requirements which are based on <br /> scientific or engineering principles, practices and considerations. However, in the case, <br /> <br /> we must express our strong ouuosition to Bill 151, based on the following: <br /> • Bill 151 includes additional arbitrary requirements which are not based on <br /> scientific or engineering principles, practices and considerations; <br /> • The additional arbitrary requirements far exceed the requirements of the <br /> National Flood Insurance Program ("NFIP") and other federal and state <br /> requirements; <br /> The additional arbitrary requirements will result in additional costs and will be <br /> passed on and could result in price increases too high for Hawaii County <br /> residents who are first-time home buyers. <br /> • The additional arbitrary requirements restrict the use of private property; and <br /> • The additional arbitrary requirements thus constitute an unconstitutional taking <br /> of land." <br /> 1 <br /> <br />