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KUBOTA:I have a question of Mr. Krueger. Thank you for enlightening me about
<br />legal procedures. Very explicit. I wasn't aware of that. If all of this information about lack
<br />of jurisdiction on our part was known to you at our last meeting, why didn't you save us the
<br />time by bringing that up? I mean we spent an inordinate amount of time arguing and debating
<br />seriously, I mean, you know, wholeheartedly trying to do well for everybody, and it appalls
<br />me that you sit there now and you tell us we don't have jurisdiction, when you knew all along
<br />and it's on the agenda again. I mean, we have how many lawyers over here. We're lay
<br />people, and if you know all of those intricacies, why wasn't it told us so we could have saved
<br />ourselves some time and energy?
<br />KRUEGER:With all due respect, Commissioner Kubota, I think we tried to. Myself,
<br />Corp. Counsel, as well as Mr. Yuen tried to indicate to the Commission at the last meeting that
<br />you could not do what it was that the Commission intended to do.
<br />KUBOTA:Excuse me? I understand the American language quite well, and I did
<br />not get that information from you nor our Planning Director nor from our Corp. Counsel, and
<br />I wouldn't expect it from Ben, of course, you know, but I mean come on, I understand the
<br />language and that's not the message I got.
<br />KRUEGER:Well, I apologize if that was not the message. But with respect to the
<br />issue of jurisdiction, I think Mr. Tsukazaki, as well as Mr. Yuen, would agree, as well as
<br />Corp. Counsel, it's not something that you lose, it can be raised at any time, and it can be
<br />brought up with respect to the ability of the Commission to go forward with the hearing. So if
<br />I didn't raise it last time or if I didn't specify it clearly enough, I apologize, but I think it can
<br />still be raised today and it's still valid as a position today, so I apologize if I didn't raise it
<br />clearly enough.
<br />FUJIKAWA:Any questions, Commissioners? If not, Mr. Yuen.
<br />YUEN:Yes, good morning, Members of the Commission. This is, I believe, the
<br />third time we sit here wrangling over procedures, how this should be, how this matter should
<br />be handled. A point of advice for the Planning Commission. You will, in a contested case,
<br />you'll have attorneys sit before you arguing about the legal procedures that should be followed.
<br />As Commissioner Kubota said, you aren't attorneys, you're not judges, you're not trained in
<br />legality. You're chosen for your community good sense in and judgment in making these, the
<br />final decisions on these permits that come before you as a cross-section of hopefully the better
<br />part of the community.
<br />I will, as the Planning Director, always try to give you what I take as the straight interpretation
<br />of the rules, the way the rules ought to be followed, regardless of the effect on the outcome, up
<br />or down, regardless of the effect. Regardless of whether the Planning Department is
<br />recommending approval or disapproval, we will always say, interpret the rules and follow the
<br />procedural rules in the same way. In this respect, we are different from the attorneys who
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