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claimed by the State would end up ultimately at some point becoming a County road if it were, <br />in fact, a government road to begin with from the ancient times. So the concern that I have from <br />the Countys perspective or from our making a decision about this is that one of the principles of <br />the law, as I understand, it is possession or the exercise of possession and control exposes you to <br />liability, okay. So if the County does not, if its not clear now that the County has any liability <br />arising from this road because of uncertainty of title, the fact -. I just want a clarification from <br />the Countys top lawyer that our taking action, which incorporates, you know, were asking for <br />improvements to be made by the applicant on this road as it adjoins the highway; and if doing so <br />then exposes the County to liability which it didnt have before? Thats the kind of question that <br />I would like to have addressed by Mr. Ashidas office, and, you know, so that it can be addressed <br />up front and not just sort of left in limbo. <br />SPRINGER:Commissioners Iwashita, are you then suggesting that we continue this <br />matter until we have that written opinion? <br />IWASHITA:Yes. <br />SPRINGER:Commissioner Alameda. <br />ALAMEDA:Just my thoughts out loud, Madam Chair. Again, Im going back to the <br />purposeoftheapplicationandImnotsureifusasCommissionersneedtomakethatkindof <br />decision of liability to the County. So Im kind of confused on -. <br />SPRINGER:Commissioner Iwashita. <br />IWASHITA:I agree with Commissioner Alameda, we shouldnt be making that <br />decision. My concern is because of the uncertainty of the title of the road we may, and the <br />conditions that were proposing to place, we may be actually doing that. And I dont want to, <br />you know, do that inadvertently as it were or, you know, as a side effect. So, and I can see <br />counsel is having these questions about my point. But I really would like to get, at least, you <br />know, Id like Mr. Ashida to tell me, you know, Commissioner Iwashita, dont worry about it; <br />and thats fine. <br />SPRINGER:Mr. Torigoe, do you have any comments? <br />TORIGOE:Well, our office is not in the practice of doing basically what would, you <br />know, doing historical research and legal opinions on a case-by-case basis for applications that <br />come in before the Commission or other boards. If our office is asked to do so in a particular <br />case, I would hope that the applicant would bear the burden of producing the historical evidence <br />to be analyzed or at least give us as much information as is available for that. And that would <br />mean the kind of things that the Director was talking about, you know, maps that may indicate <br />that there were some recognition of this road as a government road from territorial or pre- <br />territorial times, evidence that would show that this was laid out by the State or the Territory as a <br />road and was created by the government as a road. A typical case of this sort of thing would be <br />when a homestead, you know, the government lays out a homestead and puts out a paper road <br />that approximates where the current road is. And I suppose, even, I guess, the bottom is if there <br />is such evidence and it seems that this was an old government road, then under HRS Chapter <br />18EXHIBIT C <br /> <br />