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not going to sign. I did find neighbors that said that other people had been by to ask them to sign <br />a petition against me and against the permit, and they had refused to do it because all my <br />neighbors within a quarter of a mile that I had spoken to have supported the project. <br />You probably have in your packet some letters of support and I’ll just read a couple of excerpts <br />from those. One of the concerns was about traffic, and this person says, “I think the traffic <br />would be minimal, the nature of the retreat center is quiet, with little or no impact to the <br />surrounding property owners.” There’s, to the Honokaa side of us on the road there where the <br />property is, it might be termed by anyone passing through as downtown Kapulena. To the <br />Honokaa side of us there’s already a property with a special permit for a school, and to the <br />Waipio side of us is the old Hamasaki Store. So, and across the street from us is the old <br />Buddhist School. And so it is kind of a little downtown, if not commercial, area. <br />This person says, “I appreciate that the County regulates the land use. It protects us all. I do <br />think however that the nature of this permit would be protecting the integrity of the <br />neighborhood and would be a benefit to those seeking the care of the Hernandezs. I hope you’ll <br />agree.” <br />Another person says, “All of the Kapulena residents we know of feel that our community would <br />benefit from the services of the Drs. Hernandezs.” <br />Another writer says, “The writers of the General Plan could not have foreseen Hawaii’s current <br />economic woes. Supporting home occupations can support the island’s economy, and also <br />support the health and well-being of the people in the Hamakua District. And the arrival of one <br />or two automobiles an hour will not impact the property.” <br />Another person says our, “Plans are modest and would add greatly to the health and well-being <br />of the community.” <br />And another person says, and these are all within a quarter of a mile, “As a close neighbor of <br />theirs, we do not feel there will be any negative impact to the area from the use of their property <br />as a natural health clinic, we feel that the use is very much in keeping with the spirit of the <br />agricultural zoning, since one of the features of a clinic of this sort is the environment of nature – <br />fruit trees, flowers, fresh air, and so forth. Also, it has proven valuable on more than one <br />occasion to have a practitioner of naturopathic medicine close by.” Obviously these are my <br />patients, this person is one of my patients. “And we would be sorry if the Hernandez family <br />were not available as a neighborhood resource.”And that is actually a fact because we cannot <br />make a living in this area on the island. It’s very difficult for us. My wife is not here because <br />she has to be on the mainland making living. <br />Admittedly we were in violation when we were seeing patients there before and having small <br />educational seminars. And as soon as we received the notice of the violation we shut down <br />completely. And five more people went looking for new jobs and new places to do things, an <br />acupuncturist among them, a massage therapist and a counselor among them. Our intention is <br />not to alter the agricultural focus but to enhance it, by emphasizing what is already there and <br />teaching people, school children, visitors to the area, about what can be done in sustainability <br />6 <br /> EXHIBIT A <br /> <br />