2008-06-06 TSUMIDA - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

SONG: Yes, I do. WATANABE: Okay. Then are you going to begin? SONG: Yes. WATANABE: So name and address first. SONG: Sure. I’m Sandra Song and I represent Carnor Sumida; and with me today is Carnor Sumida. My address is 10 Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo. That’s my business address. And I’m here to ask for your support and approval of Carnor’s special permit. Carnor is a small business person. He started his business hauling water from his home, like many other small businessmen in the Puna area. And water hauling in Puna is necessary because most of Puna is catchment. Well, Carnor’s business grew but he’s still a small businessman. But he did get a PUC license to haul freight as well. So Carnor hauls freight and he hauls water, that is his business. He has four water trucks right now and I believe 9 tractor trailers. One of those water trucks stays at his house. And on this lot he’s proposing to park anywhere between 7 and 8 of the tractor trailers and 3 of the water trucks on this lot. And all he’s asking for is really a parking lot. All right. This history of what happened is Carnor’s business got bigger, Paradise Park grew and there are th more residents moving in where he lived at 28 and Paradise. Neighbors complained, the Planning Department cited him for the violation. He had to move his trucks off his lot. He found a space. He did not want to move his trucks from his lot. But right after he was cited by the Planning, which was December 2006, he went looking for other space; and he found this lot. Before he bought the land, and he purchased it in early January. The notice from the Planning Department was in December. Before he bought the lot he went to the Paradise Park Community Association and found out that that area was designated in their plan for Light Industrial, that the Association would support it. He talked to some of the residents there. He did not talk to the Planning Department because the Planning Department other than saying they needed a special permit couldn’t really tell him one way or the other. All he knew was there rd were four special permits issued on 33 and then some more across the road in Orchidland right across the highway. So he took a gamble and he bought this lot. In the meantime he couldn’t put his trucks on that lot because he didn’t have a special permit. In order to resolve the violation, he found a lease in Shipman, which he wasn’t happy about because it was far away, he was worried about the security for his trucks, gasoline, not gasoline but diesel was an issue. And now since last December, since early 2007 and now, diesel is not just an issue, it’s a crisis. And, in fact, today Carnor spends $38,000 a month on diesel. Diesel is over $5 a gallon. So transportation and closeness of having his vehicles closer to where he is is more important. His lease in Shipman is up in October. So he wants to be able to use this property to park his trucks. Now the Planning Department has raised certain issues on other permits that were issued. One is the landscaping. And Ms. Siracusa asked a question whether landscaping prior to occupancy could be a condition of approval in this case. Carnor is willing to do that. That’s not a problem. Actually he would have installed landscaping already but this permit was so iffy he thought why should he put up the fence, why should he start doing the landscaping, if he’s going to be told he can’t do it. But he has no objection to doing the landscaping. And if this Commission approves EXHIBIT C 8