2010-06-04 T-MALOOF - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Now we have taken the time and the effort to go out and oppose some developments and applications and rezonings in this district in the past where we thought they would contribute to sprawl or inappropriate growth and inappropriate development around the district. We had to become cognizant of the fact that if weÓre going to be in opposition to some things we have to be in support of others. In our future, in our endorsed future of having a village center plan of design for our district, with all due respect to Bobby Jean, the Planning Department is not going to build any of these village centers. These village centers will only occur from the sweat and the time and the money and the investment of the citizens that will step forward to take these risks, because all of these ventures are business ventures, and they have inherent risks. So weÓre going here with a family who is wanting to make a sensible investment of their time and money into the community and theyÓre looking for a place where they can do that. And theyÓre looking to determine that place with the guidance, the wisdom of the community, and the County that has been taking place to, and to give them some assurance that the time and the energy that theyÓre investing in their family venture, you know, will have some chance of success. And so for the purposes of a successful village center meeting the needs of its local community, we think that this applicant has made that moment, has made that effort, and deserves to have approval of this application because it does not infringe upon the concerns of the highway in any measurable way that we can find as a negative. We think it has separated itself sufficiently from the highway visually and practically, and it is located close enough and approximate enough to within the village center CDP intentions to be well within the prospect of a farmers market availability, or little real estate office and a Tai restaurant, and that these are things that this community will appreciate and make good and full use of. We also did not approach this applicant and heard testimony on it without talking with the Orchidland Community Association. Friends of PunaÓs Future has about 17 or 18 different community associations as members in our group, and we do not step farther down the line, you know, stepping on the toes of the subdivisions without consulting with them on it, cause we want their thinking, too. So we are here -. WeÓre not really to take the lead in affirmative testimony for this, but to be supportive of the applicant. We want to be supportive of the testimony from the community association, we want to be supportive of the intentions of the Puna Community Development Plan. And we think that this applicant has made, has done their due diligence and has found that moment, and that will contribute well to the community and with minimum to little impact on the highway issues. Regarding the General PlanÓs relationship to the CDP, as I was elected Chair of the Land Use Working Group and we proceeded with two years worth of studies of the land use issues within our district, at no time were we told everything you have to do has to conform to the General Plan. We were not told that we were there to endorse the General Plan. We were there to take the community input and shape it into a plan for the future that And that was what we did our best effort to do. And we really have a lot of strong faith in the village center theory. We think the doom for the Puna district will be commercial sprawl. From traffic light to traffic light, with liquor stores and gas stations and convenience stores stretched up and down the highway is the direction the community does not want to go. The village center is the direction that we want to go. And they 19 EXHIBIT A