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for people in Hilo to comment on it. And on each one of these rezoning applications the
<br />communities are notified and they are also given opportunities to comment on them. Thank you.
<br />WOODWARD: All right. Yes, sir. Commissioner Iwashita, if we could -.
<br />IWASHITA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would just -.
<br />WOODWARD: Make it fairly brief, please.
<br />IWASHITA: Yes. I’d just like to address couple of points raised.
<br />There is, I’ve been on the Commission like four years now. And, you know, there is this, well,
<br />let me back up, definitions. What we do is we grant entitlements. Okay? That’s what we do.
<br />When we grant a zoning change, that’s known as an entitlement. And it’s known as an
<br />entitlement because once it’s granted you can’t take it back. If you want it back you’ve got to
<br />pay for it. The County will have to pay to get it back, you know, somehow. Right? And
<br />entitlement means that once this is granted, if the Council grants this, cause we don’t have the
<br />final say, if the Council grants this, then the owners, the Hootas, will have increased the value of
<br />their property because now it can be used for Industrial purpose, which is a good thing. It’s a
<br />good thing. Okay? And from a private developer’s perspective, obviously, it’s a good thing.
<br />From the community’s standpoint, again, as a Commission and the Council later when it
<br />considers this application, to me, the perspective has to be beyond the immediate and obvious
<br />positive affect it has for the owner. We have to look at it from the bigger picture. And the
<br />Director is correct in pointing out that when you look at the Industrial areas, you know, that we
<br />have right now next to House Lots, it’s Hawaiian Home Lands and it’s State of Hawaii lands,
<br />and you have the issues about the rentals.That really needs to be dealt with.
<br />And the cost, well, you know, and it’s undeniable what the cost has been to do the CDPs that we
<br />have up to this point. You know, maybe we can be creative about how we do the Hilo CDP
<br />cause, I mean, the others were made out of whole cloth.There were no CDPs for Kona, Kohala,
<br />Puna. Right? Those were started from scratch. We already have something to start with in Hilo.
<br />And so, you know, I’m thinking that given the monetary constraints we can do it a different way.
<br />But to me the fact that there are these constraints and challenges that we have does not argue in
<br />favor of just doing the way we’ve done things in the past, cause that’s the way we’ve done things
<br />in the past. That is the formula for getting to where Honolulu is and where Maui is, cause Maui
<br />is the same thing. Kihei is all approved. It’s done the way we do these things. Right? It was
<br />done one project at a time. And they got Kihei, so, and Kahului, all the Industrial areas around
<br />the airport, and Kahului is all the same thing. So the question is do we want that? Is that our
<br />enlightened vision for the future of Hilo around the airport and the House Lots area, or do we
<br />want something else? If we want something else, that is my point, we need to look at that bigger
<br />picture and make decisions on that basis; and that is the basis upon which I am opposing this
<br />application. And it’s just that, you know, I wish the Hootas the best, I want them to make
<br />money. But in this particular situation, you know, I have to look at it that way in terms of my
<br />view of the public’s best interest. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
<br />WOODWARD: Thank you. Anything further? Seeing nothing further, Maija, if we could
<br />have the roll, please.
<br /> EXHIBIT A
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