Laserfiche WebLink
In 1977 in Kona there was a study done by the State. And they were to try to determine <br />the carrying capacity for South Kohala, North and South Kona, and to consider other <br />probable kind of industries that would impact the region, and more so with the tourism <br />growth and more so with the fact that they were building the Queen Kaahumanu <br />Highway. And once that had finished, it would attract a lot of demand for development. <br />The study would have helped the decision makers to determine when there is an overload <br />in infrastructure. And then sensing that or foreseeing the overload then there were <br />actions that they could take to help address the anticipated growth. But that has never <br />happened. Probably the study was completed, but I don€t think it went any further than <br />that. And if that was done at that time it would have been, I think, more helpful for <br />decision makers to make more sound decisions. My question is does the County have a <br />planning and growth management policy? <br />YUEN:Well,it€sintheGeneralPlanbasically.Iwouldsay,youknow, <br />the land use system works more by controlling where development occurs rather than by <br />how much development occurs. <br />DOMINGO:That€s why I asked the question. <br />YUEN:The County has added typically, actually very consistently for the <br />last three decades, added about 29,000 people a decade. About 2/3 of the population <br />growth of the County every decade has been from people moving into the island, and <br />about 1/3 from the excess of births over deaths. There€s also people who move out but <br />you have net inmigration to the County. You don€t have an ultimate growth control in a <br />sense of having a quota on the number of people who get to move to the island. There€s <br />freedom of movement in the United States; and many people have chosen to move to the <br />island for reasons, whether it€s clean air, clean water, nice place to live, all those kinds of <br />reasons. <br />Now that being said, there are land use decisions that can affect the overall level of <br />growth. For example, the basic decisions to make the Kona coast the big resort area, to <br />make the South Kohala and North Kona coasts big resort areas were made in the sixties, <br />and then followed-up on by the State in making the Queen Kaahumanu Highway and <br />opening the Kona Airport. All of these things lead to resort hotels being produced on the <br />Kona coast but then needed employment and attracted people to the area. You know <br />definitely they spurred growth, and they€re what I call growth-generating decisions. <br />Some kinds of residential subdivisions, let€s take Hokulia, there€s a growth generating <br />development in the sense that the people who are going in there would not necessarily be <br />moving to the island or buying lots on the island if they weren€t one acre lots around a <br />golf course done by a well-known developer. So you can make decisions that <br />consciously generate growth. <br />If I were to say, you know, what is my policy, I€m not a pro-growth person. I€m a person <br />that wants to see the quality of life preserved on the island. I think that that growth is a <br />big challenge for that. And so I generally, particularly in the employment situation that <br />6EXHIBIT D <br /> <br />