2008-04-18 TPD-WATKINS - Laserfiche WebLink

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WATANABE: Thank you. If there are no other questions, then may I call up the applicants? I’d like to swear you in; so would both of you raise your right hands, please. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? SUNDERLAND: I do. SCHULZE: Yes. WATANABE: Okay. I don’t know which one of you – you may lower your hand – I don’t know which one of you intends to begin the testimony, but either one of you, before you begin your testimony, would you state your full name and address for the record, please. SUNDERLAND: I’m Jean Sunderland. I’m one of the owners of this property. My address is Post Office Box 63, Hawi, 96719. WATANABE: Thank you. You may proceed. SUNDERLAND: Please bear with me; I will be reading my testimony. Aloha and thank you for being here today. My family and I are building a Wellness Retreat in Hawi. This review has asked us to address three allegations of failure to adhere to our SMA and Special Use Permits. I will address all three. First -. SIRACUSA: Excuse me. Could you hold your mike closer to your mouth, so I can hear you? SUNDERLAND: Thank you. Is that better? Okay. First, I would like to address the issue of access to our Retreat. As mentioned, there are three legal access roads from Akoni Pule highway to our Retreat. These access roads are Union Mill Road, the Kamehameha Park access road and Union Market Road, or as it’s now called Maluhia Road. In 2001 we actually committed to use Maluhia Road for our access. Between 2001 and 2005 we were under the impression that our use of Union Mill Road was allowed until after the Retreat had been established. Condition 2 of our Special Use Permit indicates that the proposed retreat shall be established within five years of the effective date of this permit. Condition 2 ends its directive by indicating that the applicants shall notify the Planning Department of the completion of required improvements prior to commencing operation of the proposed retreat. And I would like to say that we aren’t yet established; we do not as yet have our certificate of occupancy although we’re very close to applying for that. We felt that the term “established” meant “commencing operation of the proposed retreat,” or receiving our certificate of occupancy, rather than beginning construction. Thus, under our interpretation of our Special Use Permit, we thought that we were free to use the Union Mill Road access until the retreat was ready for operation. In late 2005 we were notified of neighbors’ discomfort concerning our use of Union Mill for construction deliveries. We agreed to stop using Union Mill Road for deliveries. At that time EXHIBIT B 6