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Mr. Yamashiro added that the project district was to make the planning process, and the time of <br />the Commission and the Council more efficiently used when there <br />because of engineering concerns such as after obtaining a detailed topography of the area they <br />may find some of those land uses may not be appropriate in the planned area. He added that if <br />they are looking at providing housing in affordable quantities and affordable prices, the more <br />administrative encumbrances are put on the project, the more difficult it will be to address the <br />housing market they are looking at, noting they realize this is an urban infill in the middle of <br />Hilo that is going to be addressing a certain group, which is probably in the affordable category. <br />For Mr. GrahamÓs information, Mr. Yamashiro said he thought Sandra Schutte meant, in her <br />statement at the Council meeting, a project district was to allow for a comprehensive project like <br />a planned community, which Mauna Lani was; and that this project is intended to be a planned <br />community that integrates the commercial, residential, and both multi-family and single-family, <br />and to best use the site in the most efficient way without having to keep coming back to the <br />Commission and the Council for rezoning. <br />Commissioner Graham said he would not support the project without a buffer area between the <br />existing project and surrounding homes as the project district has to meet the criteria that the <br />request will not result in a substantial adverse impact upon the surrounding area, community or <br />region. He also expressed his concern on the location of the pa <br />Ms. Goldstein added that the kinds of things that would go on in a neighborhood park would not <br />necessarily be allowed in an open area for the purposes of the flood. <br />Commissioner Graham said the flood problems would also be a substantial adverse impact, but <br />the Planning Director did say he was confident that the flood problem could be solved and that <br />Mr. Yamashiro was pretty clear about R. M. Towill will ensure that there will be no water runoff <br />from the project as they will be contained within the project area, to which Mr. Yamashiro stated <br />this was a Public Works requirement. <br />For the publicÓs benefit, Mr. Yuen said the Department is recommending against the access <br />proposed from Puu Honu Way as it was not a very good intersection, and the proposed general <br />plan does not change this from the current medium density urban. He said they are also <br />recommending a height limit of 45 feet. <br />Regarding the flooding, Mr.Yuen said the Department is proposing a condition that the <br />landowner be required to maintain the flood channel as many of the flooding problems <br />experienced happens when culverts get clogged by debris, oftentimes by trees uprooted during <br />storms growing in the middle of the channels. He said the development cannot increase the <br />runoff into the channels and must handle the increase in water into the ground on the subject <br />property, which is the job of the private civil engineers hired by the developer. He said because <br />of experience from past flooding, the Department is very conscientious about making sure that <br />they keep construction out of natural floodways and about incorporating an open space buffer <br />along the banks of the stream to avoid spending tens of millions of dollars, such as was spent on <br />the Alenaio Stream project, to protect houses that were built where the flood wants to go. <br />5 <br /> <br />