2009-03-06 THQHQ - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

HOUSEL: Okay. I guess my preference would be to hear them, give them like you say a limited time to speak if they can, if they agree to that, so we don’t have to hold them here. WATANABE: Okay. Well, let’s try then. Let’s call up the first three, Erik Birkholm, Sarah Strong, Malia DeFay-Brown. Okay, would you raise your right hand please. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes. WATANABE: Okay; and we’ll start with you Erik. BIRKHOLM: Erik Birkholm, 17-481 Luhi Road, Kurtistown, Hawaii. WATANABE: Okay, thank you. You may begin your testimony, actually; and just to be consistent with everyone, max three minutes. Okay? BIRKHOLM: Okay, very good. I’m a real estate broker in Keaau, Hawaii. I own Aina Hawaii Realty. I’ve been doing business in the Pahoa, Puna, and Keaau areas for 30 years. One of the initial objectives of this was to provide or to get a special use permit and create office space or, you know, rental space for professional offices. We were told by the Planning Department that we needed to go out into the community, solicit the community to see if there was interest for, you know, rental space, commercial space, which we have done; and those people will testify today. One of the things in being in Puna and being in Keaau is my office is in the Keaau Town Center, so I have 10 to 20 people every month coming into my office looking for commercial space, which is not available. I send them to Pahoa. When I send them to Pahoa they come back and they say there’s no parking in Pahoa. The downtown Pahoa area that you’re talking about now, the old town of Pahoa, has no parking. And the only parking in Pahoa is either at the swimming pool or at the community center. Okay? So, you know, that is really not a viable option for, say, a doctor’s office or a professional office. And that’s why we felt that this home, this site is close enough to the northern corridor. It’s on the Pahoa Village Road. You have 250 feet of frontage on the road. The property is fenced, and there is ample parking to support, you know, what we’re asking you for. Thank you very much. 0/ EXHIBIT B