2007-07-06 TSUPERSTORES - Laserfiche WebLink

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here in Hilo, flooded the market. And if you have bought Christmas trees, once you buy a Christmas tree, youre not going to buy another Christmas tree. And so as a result of that, two straight years we suffered huge losses; and after the second year said thats it. When we lose $50,000 plus a year its pretty hard as a small business person to sustain those kinds of loses. You need to sustain the amendment to ban the superstores. The changes proposed by Planning Director Chris Yuen to set aside a special zoning district is just as threatening to our society and the lifestyle here in Hawaii as it is anywhere. We have to keep Hawaii Hawaii. We dont want to be another Oahu. We already see all the mistakes that Oahu is making. Your responsibility as Planning Commissioners is to make sure that we can maintain this lifestyle. When the superstores start coming in and you allow this to happen the lifestyles of the people of this island will totally change, will totally change. Because now all of the planning that the Puna Planning Development Committee has put together into trying to make regional areas so that we have regional shopping centers so that the people from Puna can go there will now be forced to come tothesuperstore.Thesuperstoreisaconveniencebutitsnotaconvenienceforthepeople.Its a convenience for Wal-Mart. Because that way they can centralize all of their forces and resources and force people to drive in long distances from Puna, from Kau, from Volcano, from Honokaa, as well as in the Hilo area to come. This is totally contrary to the ahupuaa concept, totally contrary to that. And this, we cannot allow this to happen because this will impact our lifestyle. I would also like to remind the Planning Commission on Article 12, Section 7 of the State Constitution that reaffirms the cultural, the traditional and customary impacts of the Kanaka Maoli. This superstore will invariably have a huge negative impact on our farmers, on our lawaiafishermen), as well as the people that work around the area. Look at the gas prices, look ( at whats going to happen if people have got to drive far. Think of the ahupuaa concept so that we can try. The best thing that you can do is to sustain this bill and to get Wal-Mart to build little stores in these different areas. Now if they did that, we can kakoo that, we would support that, okay, if they made it a regional thing. So that if they wanted to be good neighbors this is the way for them to be good neighbors. Because now all the other stores, everybody else can also compete with them. To me, thats the right solution. Mahalo. WATANABE:Thank you. Do we have any questions for this testifier? Yes, Mr. Domingo. DOMINGO:Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Kale, I disagree with you on your last statement. What they can do is build a huge warehouse and from that area, every time or when required they can just take it from the warehouse and go to those small little stores and stock it, and youll face the same problem. GUMAPAC:Youre right, right. I forgot about that warehouse. I take that statement back. DOMINGO:Okay, you take that back and I -. GUMAPAC:I not one Planning Commissioner so I can take that statement back. DOMINGO:You take that back and I agree with your statement. 24 EXHIBIT B