2020-08-20 Leeward Exh B (Amend Zoning Code re Primary Airports)

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PALMA-GLENNIE: Aloha, Commissioners. My name is Janice Palma-Glennie. I'm testifying on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation's Kona Kai Ea Chapter today. I am living in Kailua-Kona. Our mission is to protect and enjoy oceans and water waves. Our concern with the proposed zoning changes are the impacts that they'll have on our State's waters and other natural and cultural resources, especially in those, especially if those changes include a hotel conference center. An environmental attorney, as environmental attorney David Kimo Frankel wrote in his testimony to the Planning Director regarding his proposal, "The Kona coastline should remain free from urbanization to the maximum extent possible." In fact, that's what 90 percent of thousands of Kona Community Development Plan stakeholders said at years-long charrettes and hearings that led the creation of CDP, which is County law. "Keeping development mauka of the highway protects water quality and scenic vistas"points also resoundingly agreed upon by residents during each of the landmark development battles our community has fought and won over several decades, some within a stone's throw of the airport. Protected public lands like `O`oma, a Conservation zone treasure whose protection was won after 20 years of community struggles. It's adjacent, or less than a mile from the airport. `O`oma is now thankfully protected as a County park, but because of lack of management funding, its natural resources are threatened. This is also true of Kekaha Kai State Park, which is on the airport's boundary. And it's true of many others. Yet, oddly, we are discussing the possibility of building a hotel in that area despite not knowing how big it might be and what impacts it will have. Why would we risk such precious resources when many hotels have occupancy of as low as ten percent and only seasonally full? Wouldn't it be better to focus on more immediate public needs and support existing accommodations built on Resort zoned land instead of changing County Code to accommodate hotels where they aren't allowed? There are huge costs associated with urbanizing the Kona coastline, many whose dollar values are difficult to determine. Potable water is precious. From where will this project obtain it? Toxic runoff onto nearshore reefs that feed our people and economy and keep Hawaiian culture alive is also at threat. And wastewater treatment is the bogeyman of West Hawaii. How would the extra development affect these critical resources whose values are incalculable? Kona isn't like most major airports. And"normally" doesn't mean, means "not always" in regulation to amenities. We are not Denver, San Francisco; we are a dead-end facility, and it's safe to say many people like it that way. Short intentional layovers don't happen here and relatively few occur due to weather or other issues. And travel to a hotel in West Hawaii often takes less time than one close to the San Francisco Airport. This rare need as it's called doesn't seem dire enough to throw millions of tax dollars away when our financial resources have been ravaged by COVID-19 and the past volcanic eruption. Frankly, we see this plan as nose under the tent of coastal hotel development. After tremendous sacrifice and hard-won success stopping so many huge development to back off, Kona residents have a hard time feeling confident that more of the same aren't the focus of the powers that be, when this is one of the first large projects being zeroed in on by our County and State during the pandemic. And with so many reginal needs and government coppers running dry, it's mystifying that this is the project our overworked underfunded Planning Department is focusing upon. If we've learned 6 EXHIBIT B