2006-06-02 TMochida - Laserfiche WebLink

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KENT:Okay. My beginning started, I have been here for a long time. My beginning started when my grandfather moved to Hawaii in 1900, married my grandmother Yukie Matsuura from the original Kapoho town. So I’ve been here a little while, or at least my family has been. SIRACUSA:You can move your microphone closer to you. KENT:Thank you. I’m nervous. ALAMEDA:No problem. We’re just as nervous. So, go ahead. KENT:Okay. I would like to show support of Mr. Mochida’s project in the Houselots area. He’s not looking at putting in a commercial structure. He’s looking at putting in residential. I’m a parent and independent business person, I’ve been a law enforcement officer with the State of Hawaii for 15 years, and I’m a property owner in the Houselots area. Ms. Siracusa, yes, the homeless are living in abandoned homes in the Houselots area, and that was brought to my attention very recently. I’ve seen the transition of the Houselots area from the original family to rentals, to rebuilding residentials, through allowing commercial industrial uses of the area. I consider myself becoming now one of the older or second generation in the Houselots area. I got to know the first generation. I’m not giving away my age. The population increased in Hawaii from 03 to 04 by 2.7 percent. My son recently moved back from Las Vegas to Oahu to Hilo, lived in a townhouse in Honolulu, and has to live with relatives here now because he can’t afford the $500,000 to $600,000 for a residential home. By building a project such as this, it will allow the young kids to move back to this area, and further their lives here, as opposed to having to stay away for jobs and housing. Our population in Hilo is now 41,000 and climbing. I feel that Mr. Mochida is not wasting this property but making an excellent use of the property in providing residential. He’s a responsible member of our community, a responsible contractor and has always shown himself to be responsible to the County and its various agencies. A townhouse is a low density structure as opposed to an apartment which applications in some of the areas have brought in larger apartment units. I think Mr. Yuen had given examples of potential apartment buildings and their various densities. The maintenance costs in a townhouse are shared. The infrastructure is shared, and there are several other things that make a townhouse more feasible than trying to go out and buy a regular single family dwelling. So with that I would ask the Commission to please consider Mr. Mochida’s application and move favorably on it. ALAMEDA:Thank you, Ms. Kent. We appreciate your testimony today. Any questions? It was very good, very articulate.Thank you. You may be seated. Ms. Hamakawa, could you please state your name and address for the record. HAMAKAWA:Hello. ALAMEDA:Hello. 6EXHIBIT B