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and then you can go right ahead without any further comments into what you have to say about <br />this application today. And we only have six testifiers, but still some brevity is appreciated, if <br />you could stay with the points of importance. Thank you. Ms. Withington? <br />WITHINGTON: Good Morning to you all. My name is Toni Withington. I’m with <br />Kamakani O Kohala Ohana, Inc., Kako`o. We have been a part of the contested case hearing. <br />We are an environmental organization based in North Kohala, dedicated to the proper <br />management of our community resources. As we have said before, we do not have objection to <br />this project, or the scope of the project. Our -. <br />GRAHAM: Ms. Withington, just a second. Are you testifying as an individual <br />testifier, or are you kind of a representative of the Kako`o in this point, who is one of the <br />intervenors who would come up a little bit later on the process? <br />WITHINGTON: I’m testifying for Kako`o. I am only offering summary remarks as <br />result of the hearings officer’s report, and so I’m limiting myself to two small points. <br />GRAHAM: Let me check with Mr. Torigoe a second, first. Is this appropriate, <br />Mr. Torigoe? <br />TORIGOE: Generally speaking, if you have a contested case and you have the <br />parties coming before you, then when you call the parties up as parties is the time when you <br />should receive argument or commentary. Right now I think what you are doing is taking general <br />public testimony from non-parties. So, but I believe it’s within your discretion. I think if you <br />want to allow some limited commentary, you could do so; or if these comments from Ms. <br />Withington could be done when the actual contested case parties are brought up, that’s another <br />option. <br />GRAHAM: All right. Ms. Withington, if you would like to -. I mean if the <br />Commission is okay, since you weren’t participating in the contested case hearing, if you want to <br />just make some comments as you were doing here, that’s okay. <br />WITHINGTON: The brief comments I have to make are ones that were not <br />addressed in the report of the hearings officer that we feel are important for you to hear. Is that <br />all right? <br />GRAHAM: Is that all right with the Commissioners if she just put them <br />forward here now? All right. Go ahead. <br />WITHINGTON: Okay. I have two things to say to you. One is that the use of <br />Special Permits on prime ag land is having a devastating effect on the diversified agriculture in <br />our community. The State and the County have both recognized so strongly that the transition <br />from plantation agriculture to diversified agriculture is going to take a long time and it’s going to <br />take a lot of forbearance by owners of prime ag property. The State law clearly says that <br />pressure needs to be put on owners of prime land in a permitting process, so that it can continue <br />in prime ag. But what is happening is investors and speculators are coming to the County to ask <br />for Special Permits for non-ag uses in prime land despite the State law that prohibits that. The <br />Planning Department’s own Recommendation recognizes this land as prime ag, and in your <br />EXHIBIT B <br />3 <br /> <br />