2008-01-11 THALEKII - Laserfiche WebLink

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that there was a Yamagata Road alternative for a period of time. I never heard of that before. But that is one of the things that I am concerned, that there is no alternative to Halekii Street that’s being considered to advance the Bypass. At any rate, the Halekii Street is now proposed as a connector between Mamalahoa Bypass and Highway 11. In the frequently asked question th sheet that the County distributed for December 7, the County asked the question why the change in the use of Halekii. We never knew our road would be a connector. Well, the answer to that was that the General Plan Facilities Map was amended in 2006 showing Halekii as a collector road when the northern section of the Bypass is completed. When did the Facilities Map change? Well, apparently that occurred at a County Council special meeting held in Hilo on October 24, 2006. It was a quick recovery legislation meeting. And in response to the Mayor’s request the County Council convened the special meeting October 24, 2006 at 9 o’clock in Hilo. Following that special meeting the County held a public hearing on the proposed Interim General Plan Amendments in Hilo. Chairman Higa apologized for the inconvenience th caused by rescheduling the public hearing originally set for October 25 in Kona, however reciting it to follow the special meeting being convened at the request of the Mayor assured that a quorum would be met. Well, there was no public hearing before today to address the opening of the current Halekii as that connector; and on the amended General Plan there is one line that addresses, oh, under Chapter 13, extend Halekii Street to connect to the proposed Mamalahoa Bypass Highway. Until this had come up recently, I don’t know that there were any public hearings. There may have been interest groups in the communities, but I don’t think a public hearing had ever addressed any of this. But since there wasn’t, I’m going to say now what I would have then. The County has itemized a number of actions to improve traffic safety in the South Kona area. And the improvements are welcome with the exception of using Halekii Street as a connector for a few reasons. For one, the General Plan itself lists roadway standards that any major collector, any streets supplementary to an arterial street system should have a 60-foot right-of-way. And I think we already heard with the slide show that it’s 24 and 26 feet wide, maybe there’s room for widening but certainly not there right now. So according to the County’s own standards, there isn’t a wide enough right-of-way here. Another problem here is grades. Under County Code, Chapter 23, under Subdivisions, for street design grades, a grade of the street shall be a reasonable minimum but in no case less than ½ of 1 percent. It shall not exceed 7 percent on major arterials, 8 percent on secondary arterials, 10 percent on collector streets or 12 percent on any other street. So Halekii has a 19 percent grade in some sections. So I don’t know how that has suddenly become acceptable. At any rate, it appears that the County’s own rules prohibit using Halekii Street as a connector road. Well, I heard earlier about the speed humps that the County intends to put on Halekii Street which would be still a major route and access to the hospital. And pardon me but I don’t think emergency vehicles should have to go over speed humps on the way to the hospital. It doesn’t appear to be a reasonable thing. Well, as Mr. DeFries mentioned, there is a January 29, 2008 Coupe family motion to vacate or stay the County’s order of possession until the appeal is completed, which means that Halekii would be used indefinitely as a connector between the Bypass and Highway 11. I’m requesting that the Planning Commission give a negative recommendation in using Halekii for a connector road. Thank you very much. EXHIBIT A 27