2008-01-11 THALEKII - Laserfiche WebLink

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YUEN: If I could jump in. You asked a planning, you know, a planning-related question so I wanted to jump in after Jiro had his say on this. And you asked a question about development along this Bypass Highway. And I would say, first of all, as far as my own view of it, we should not have any rezoning from the KIC property south along the Bypass Highway to Mamalahoa, I mean, south to Napoopoo. The General Plan does not show this as a development area. The General Plan has this as an Agricultural area. The General Plan was amended to say specifically that there shouldn’t be commercial, that the Bypass Highway should be a scenic highway, there should not be commercial development along the Bypass Highway. One of the things that tends to happen when you build a highway like this is that commercial businesses will try to move out to the highway because people are driving back and forth on it. And then that starts to defeat the function of the highway as a through route for commuter travel, besides defeating the idea of it being a scenic highway. And, finally, although the community development plan is not finished, I can’t say enough about every planning concept in that community development plan shows this as not being a development area where you’re going to have intensive future development. WATANABE: Thank you. I know I have a number of people who would like to testify, specifically we have 19 of them. But I’d like to call up Mr. John DeFries who represents Hokulia. I believe Sonny Shimaoka has a time constraint so would Sonny please step up; and I understand that Barbara Scott has been here for a while and has to leave also. So I’d like to call those three people up, please. The hearing has gone on for quite a while now and we’re only now entering into public testimony. So I’d like to ask you to please keep your statements brief, maybe let’s try to stick to 3 to 5 minutes and hopefully you won’t be redundant. So may I begin by swearing you in? Would you all raise your right hand? Do you now swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. WATANABE: Thank you. Maybe you can begin, Mr. DeFries. And prior to providing your testimony, would you state your name and address for the record, please. DEFRIES: Yes. John DeFries, 1250 Oceanside Partners, 78-6831 Alii Drive, Kailua- Kona, Hawaii 96740-2440. WATANABE: You may proceed. DEFRIES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Fellow Commissioners. In my remarks, let me provide some background and some history that might help put this in further context; and that is the distinction between meaningful solutions and interim solutions. And clearly we are here today to seek alternatives that if adopted formulate an interim solution. The completed 5 ½ mile Mamalahoa Highway Bypass when linked with the completed Alii Parkway combined with the Queen Kaahumanu Highway improvements that are now in place brings us into a meaningful solution. And so we applaud the County’s efforts to try and find and explore an interim solution. We recognize like the County does that no solution interim or otherwise is possible without hearing the voices of our neighbors and the residents who are gathered here. Today’s turnout should be of no surprise. Various alignments of this highway had been on the drawing boards of either the State of Hawaii and/or the County of Hawaii for 40 years. Oceanside has every intent of completing this highway from its Keauhou entry working south to the Napoopoo junction. In EXHIBIT A 23