PL-SMA-2022-000018, PL-SPP-2022-000018 01.04.23 B. ROBINSON TESTIMONY

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• Only two of the four landowners with special permits for overnight accommodations have completed the anticipated construction. One is the applicant with 16 rooms. The other is the "New Moon Foundation" property, now 'Iole under the ownership of Hawaii Community Foundation, consisting of 10 new bungalows and a 40 -bed dorm (the renovated Girls School). Both of these entities serve primarily educational and non-profit groups rather than individual travelers. • Two of the four special permits have lapsed. One was for a camp housing 75 persons, on a parcel just mauka of Hawaii Island Retreat on Lokahi Road. The other was the Vipassana Hawaii planned retreat center of 100 rooms in Halawa. I was the listing agent for both of these properties when they sold to new owners who allowed the permits to lapse. • The Kohala Club Hotel, located at the turn-off to Hawaii Island Retreat from Akoni Pule Highway, is being converted into a medical facility, a loss of 9 rooms primarily booked by local families. • Licensed accomodations in Hawi town include the Kohala Village Inn withl8 rooms, the Plantation House B&B with five rooms and Puakea Ranch with four guest cottages. • The majority of the overnight visitors to Kohala are being housed in hosted short term vacation rentals (transient accommodations rentals). Hosted rentals were required to obtain licenses in 2018. Proposed regulation of unhosted rentals will mean most of those in operation in Kohala will not qualify and will no longer be able to operate for a variety of reasons: ag zoning, unpermitted construction, failure to have paid GET and TAT. In summary, the large-scale building of tourist accommodations feared by the community did not occur. The facilities offering overnight accommodations, including Hawaii Island Retreat, have proven to be good community partners. In the case of Hawaii Island Retreat, the 'aina is in better shape and producing food as was intended as a condition of their permit; they host community fundraising events; and they maintain shoreline public access and steward cultural sites. Current Community sentiment as expressed in our Kohala Community Plan talk story sessions strongly favors concentrating visitor accommodations at the existing inns and retreats, as opposed to the proliferation of TARs. The business model of Hawaii Island Retreat is also in keeping with the broader emphasis on regenerative tourism across Hawaii. As a final observation, the Applicant has been proactive in presenting the proposed amendments in advance of this Commission hearing. Applicant met with the CDP Growth Management Subcommittee on December 14, 2022 to present the applications and answer questions. At that meeting Applicant agreed to also work with the CDP Community Access Group to review the terms of their grant of public access, which was one of the first in Kohala, to answer any concerns that group might have given that subsequent grants might have additional or different provisions preferred by the Community. Our Kohala Community Plan working group has as one of its goals the engagement of all stakeholders, so that future planning decisions for our community will be vetted through a more collaborative process than has been the case historically. We hope that encouraging landowners to engage more proactively as this Applicant has done will aid you as Commissioners in having the information you need to make informed decisions. 2