2007-03-16 TBILLS - Laserfiche WebLink

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GRAHAM:Thank you. Were looking at four different bills and please feel free to comment in specifics on any one you choose and just begin your testimony by giving your name and address first, please. HUNTER:Right. Im Bob Hunter. I live in Waimea. So Id like to focus in on the Planning Directors proposed revision to 318 because I think it has really got a lot of advantages, very well thought through. And I believe that passage of Planning Directors Bill 318 will be an important step toward the Countys achieving control over the timing and sequence of development so that growth coincides with our ability to finance and construct the public facilities needed to accommodate it. Im just going to review a few things in the written testimony that Ive given you. I think the bill encourages the County to link implementation of its land use plan to a capital improvement plan. And if we continue to ignore that way of thinking about planning, were going to kill our Golden Goose. And I can tell you the goose is limping up in Waimea as we speak. I cant even get friends to come visit us anymore because theydontwanttobethere.AndIthinkthatthetrafficcirculationstudyforWaimeashowed that in two to five years were going to be in gridlock up there. So we have to start thinking about linking land use approvals with infrastructure. I was happy to see that the bill addressed how much traffic congestion is acceptable on our State and County roads. It encourages rezonings in areas where youre creating jobs and providing services locally, thats great. I think passage of the propose bill will send a message to the people of the County that the Council respects working people who are stuck in these traffic jams in the morning and in the evening. I have a few suggestions for ways to make the bill even better, and theyre outlined on the second page; and Id be glad to answer any questions. And when I go and talk to community groups, not all of them are as familiar with the situation as you are. And one of the analogies Im using how we can improve this is, when I grew up in Louisiana we did seine fishing all the time, hukilau here, and I think that what we have to do is plug a few holes in our net in order to catch more of the applicants that are coming through the system to make sure more of them participate in concurrency management or doing their fair share on water and transportation. The proposed bill wouldnt stop growth. It wouldnt propose unfair costs on developers. It does ensure that an applicant for a rezoning cannot make the situation worse than it was before his project. I think Chris did a great job of tailoring ideas that have been used in rapidly growing communities elsewhere to the unique challenges that are being faced by our island. I think that it would add a system of checks and balances to the system. Its focused on the most critical infrastructure systems. Transportation and water supply I think is appropriate; and if you need to focus on something later, you can always bring it in. But to get the most punch early is the way to do it. And I think it would really encourage our leadership and those actually building our communities to think in terms of stewardship of our island home. Weve all got to be participants as you are. I give it to you for sitting through days of trying to steward our environment. But those people who are applying for zoning need to be stewards, too. So thats my testimony. Thank you. 4EXHIBIT D