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are looking at how do we prioritize? Then it gets even more complex because, as you say, we
<br /> have subdivisions that don't have fire hydrants, right? So now what do we need for a fire
<br /> hydrant? We need a waterline. So now we need to go and get that infrastructure put in to bring
<br /> those fire hydrants in to serve existing units. Simultaneously, we are in a housing crisis, so we
<br /> need new units in other places, and what do we absolutely need for those new units? Water. So
<br /> now these really tricky conversations come up of where do we put that money? Do we serve the
<br /> existing? Do we serve the new? Similarly to even like our cesspool conversions, and we need,
<br /> you know, other wastewater systems like which we are tackling existing and we are also going
<br /> after new. So it's really trying to find that balance. I feel like this administration is really
<br /> pushing forward to find creative solutions and go through that. All of those policies that you've
<br /> seen, we review as a Planning Department when an application comes in. So we review the
<br /> projects against all of those policies, GP, CDP, and that's how we kind of help, it helps make that
<br /> decision: hey, it's consistent with it, we can support it, it's not consistent with it, we can't
<br /> supportit. So you folks are seeing that project by project. The challenge is how do we get
<br /> somebody to do more, how do we get somebody to do, you know, more affordable housing,
<br /> specifically. And so, like right now we have an area in that, that TOD node within that Kona
<br /> urban core area where we could potentially do 1,500 affordable housing units; however, we can't
<br /> get the water out of the ground to do it, even though the sustainable yield is there. So it's you
<br /> layer compound after compound after compounding, you know, challenge, and it's kind of one
<br /> of those things that it could sit there and not a lot be done. And I feel like we've seen just for
<br /> many years there's a lot of deferred maintenance that's coming up and something that personally
<br /> I don't like to not do, I like to do. So we are trying to do what we can to solve these areas. It
<br /> doesn't answer all your questions, Commissioner, but it's some framework of these, how we are
<br /> trying to tackle these ongoing constant issues while those policies remain and continue to uplift
<br /> those within the decisions that we are making. I hope that helps a little bit.
<br /> YATES: Yes, thank you, I mean at least it gives us some insight to it. Thank you.
<br /> KERN: Absolutely.
<br /> VITOUSEK: Commissioner Paishon-Duarte.
<br /> PAISHON-DUARTE: Thank you. Yeah, thank you, Zendo, for providing more context, you
<br /> know, competing interests and timelines and resources and so forth. I actually have a,just a
<br /> vernacular question; what does infill mean? You had mentioned it in one of your slides. I'm
<br /> sorry I don't know what that means.
<br /> KERN: Sure, so infill development is when you are basically in-filling an existing area. So like
<br /> a really good area would be, say, the old industrial area of Kailua-Kona, so right where, say, the
<br /> brewery block is, that whole area; if you were to go in there and start developing, that's infill
<br /> development. So we are now, we are in-filling in that area, kind of already existing area, already
<br /> had impact, already had the disturbance, versus going outside of that area and now we are
<br /> actually creating a new disturbance, a new area, "greenfield development"they call it, and we
<br /> are creating new. So that's kind of the difference between those two. You know, modern
<br /> planning practices is to try to do as much infill as possible and then limit that. And so we are
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