|
GIFFIN:Yes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but in our short history of the Kohala
<br />Estates, wasn’t there a fire also, and to the best of my knowledge one or two, where the traffic
<br />was successfully rerouted out of there? And to the best of my memory, traffic was not an issue.
<br />MOOERS: That’s my recollection. But I don’t live there, I’d rather not go on the
<br />record saying that I know that for a fact. Irina, do you have any knowledge?
<br />th
<br />I. PLACE: Yes, there was a fire in 1993, December 5, and the fire was addressed
<br />very prudently, and the traffic was blocked. Also, sometimes we are subject to high winds and in
<br />December 14, 2007 some lines were down and the police was there redirecting traffic. So, and
<br />because the houses are actually sparsely located, it is not a problem. It’s not like Puako where
<br />the population is very dense. So, yes, we have history of addressing some sort of, you know,
<br />accidents; and so far they have been resolved successfully.
<br />GIFFIN: Thank you very much.
<br />WATANABE: Thank you. Ms. Bowman?
<br />BOWMAN: I just, I think I have a comment because fire, you know, is such an
<br />important problem. And there’s an organization, I think it’s Hawaii Wildfire Organization, that
<br />is really actively working with the County and the Federal governments to do control burns.
<br />And also Dr. Place is a horticulturists and there are many, many plants, you know, that are fire, a
<br />little bit more fire resistant, and there’s, you know, venues to take. So I, you know, would hope
<br />that we and also as a Planning Commission and as a County can look towards that, especially
<br />areas like Waikoloa and these areas, rather than just, you know, we’re going to respond when it
<br />happens, to some kind of preventative landscaping, which your garden provides -.
<br />MOOERS: Can I make a couple of comments?
<br />BOWMAN: Yes.
<br />MOOERS: I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a better situation. You have a
<br />botanical garden in which the natural grasses have been removed and irrigated, you know, plants
<br />have been placed in. You’ve got two irrigation wells on the site and a 50,000 gallon reservoir on
<br />the site. So this area is quite prepared to address any fire in the immediate area. So I think we’d
<br />be very lucky to have other subdivisions that had such, you know, access to water and storage
<br />facilities as this particular subdivision does.
<br />WATANABE: Thank you. Fellow Commissioners, any further questions? I think you
<br />responded quite well to that, Mr. Mooers, thank you. Do we need to discuss this further or is
<br />someone prepared to make a motion? Ms. Giffin?
<br />GIFFIN: Mr. Chairman, I move that we approve the change of zone application 09-
<br />95 and send a favorable recommendation for this change to the County Council.
<br />WATANABE: Okay, thank you. Any second? Mr. Housel?
<br />EXHIBIT A
<br />10
<br />
<br />
|