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people with the big bucks that can come in and do affordable housing and those kinds of <br />projects, any real clear directive on how we€re going to address these issues. And in my mind, <br />the community development plan is authorized by the General Plan Amendments, adopted last <br />year; and the one for Hilo and all of them for the entire island in my mind can be used as a <br />vehicle to address the housing issue now, to be specific about how affordable housing is going to <br />be addressed. I know this is not -. <br />And the way my view is as to your request, you know, I commend what you want to do, you <br />know, obviously you€re the business person, you know, you€re probably going to make it work <br />and make money. But in the big picture from where I sit as a Commissioner and what I believe <br />my job is, is to look at the big picture and how your project fits into the big picture. You know, <br />my sense is that most of this panel is going to go along with your request. But I€m speaking <br />towards taking a bigger picture and that denying your request at this time is not going to be a <br />devastating thing in terms of where the commercial development, you know, and how the <br />commercialdevelopmentisgoingtotakeplaceinthiscity,andthatwereallyneedtolookatthat <br />big picture. And if after the community development plan is done and, in fact, your property is <br />within the commercial area, great. Right? It will work. But I really, if we don€t start taking a <br />stand about this as a body and we allow on a piece-meal by piece-meal basis every month <br />coming here and approving one by one this type of request, then in my mind there€s really no <br />plan to do it. The fact that the General Plan allows for Medium Density Urban use is a really, <br />it€s not a fine planning tool. You know, within that area you can have everything from 7- <br />Elevens to apartment buildings; but it doesn€t tell you where and how it should be done. That€s <br />what the community development plan is for, in my mind, and that€s how it should be done. <br />And in that way we can address the bigger issues. <br />The way we€re proceeding now as a body, we have no way to address these bigger issues. These <br />housing concerns, some of us really feel that there is a real problem with that and it should be <br />addressed; and in my mind it is a determinate factor, we€re taking a house out of use, you know, <br />and we€re allowing you and people to do that. That just aggravates the problem. And we cannot <br />really turn a blind eye to that. We€re a policy board. We€re supposed to be implementing <br />policies and looking at the big picture. And by turning a blind eye to the fact that we€re taking a <br />dwelling out of the housing market, I think that cumulatively it adds up and it cannot make <br />things better. We need a better process to do that. So all of that said, I apologize for the length <br />of it, but that€s the basis for my voting nay on this application. <br />ALAMEDA:Thank you, Commissioner Iwashita. Fellow Commissioners, let me just <br />remind you that this is a discussion opportunity and the discussion opportunity is really for us to <br />discuss with each other. So try to refrain from making further comments directed to the <br />applicant. They€re off the hot seat already, so -. Commissioner Galdones? <br />IWASHITA:I did not intend to place the applicant on the hot seat and I was simply <br />trying to -. And I don€t know if it€s improper but it is -. My view is a bigger view and in my <br />mind, right, so -. <br />ALAMEDA:That€s fine, that€s fine. Just direct it to us, your Fellow Commissioners. I <br />would appreciate that, Commissioner Iwashita. <br />INWASHITA:Okay. Well, Ms. Tripp, if I offended you in any way, I apologize. <br />13EXHIBIT A <br /> <br />