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KERN: Yeah, let’s, if we can, start to summarize this.
<br />MELROSE: That’s right. I’m at the end of that process.
<br />KERN: We have people in the public waiting to -.
<br />MELROSE: And that’s really what I want to say, is that there are people from the community
<br />who have come for the purpose of trying to, you know, express their interest in that. And the one
<br />other thing I would add is that this issue of a small regional versus, you know, small activities
<br />versus regional centers, you’re going to see this come to you in both the Kau CDP and the
<br />Hamakua CDP. And I ask because you guys live in this world of having to be the, having to
<br />walk that line, ask to make sure when you see those that this process addresses, that those two
<br />plans address that. Puna failed to do that. But you shouldn’t let Kau or Hamakua do that
<br />because it is the fundamental essential nature of rural economy of people living on property and
<br />trying to make it work for them and make their lives work around what is the only piece of
<br />property that they own. And if they can do it without offending neighbors, if they can do it
<br />without creating regional or neighborhood kinds of issues, it is how we are in rural Hawai‘i; and
<br />I think that’s a fair truth. So please when those things come up ask the question, because that’s
<br />an important part of what I think the Plan needs to include.
<br />KERN: Thank you. Commissioner Au.
<br />AU: Question. You mentioned this was a process of about a year and a half and you guys went
<br />for your building permit. When were you guys issued your building permit?
<br />T. ROBESON: We were issued a building permit in, well, the initial permit or the final?
<br />AU: I guess when did you get your permit and when did you get your final?
<br />T. ROBESON: Good question. We got our permit I believe late ’08, middle to late. So
<br />probably itwould have been November of ’08; and got the final in November of ’09.
<br />AU:And you were open for three days?
<br />T. ROBESON: We were open for three days.
<br />AU: And then someone came up to you and told you guys you guys need a special permit?
<br />T. ROBESON: We had, Planning came up and said that, you know, it was an inspector that
<br />came up. And he said, you know, what are you doing? And we explained to him. And he said,
<br />well, there was a complaint that you’re running this type of operation without a special use
<br />permit. And I said, well, I thought I had been through the whole process to get everything that I
<br />needed because I’ve got a set of plans right here that state right on them retail bakery; and it’s
<br />signed and approved by, you know, everybody, you know, Planning included. And he said no,
<br />shouldn’t have done that, you need to go through this process the same as, as, every, the
<br />complainant had to go through this process. So we stopped.
<br />AU: So basically for two years you went along your business, you guys built it, you guys
<br />invested all this money, all this time, and then you were told that you can’t do this?
<br />T. ROBESON: Correct.
<br />AU: Question for staff, I mean, BJ. You know, throughout this entire process, you know, the
<br />clients, the applicants, you know, are spending all this time and money and it was never
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