2023-06-15 Leeward Exh B (Item !&2 Kaupulehu Land LLC)

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KNOWLES: I represent South Kohala as a Commissioner here and I understand the need for this sort of development, and I also understand the ambivalence or anxiety attendant with these kinds of changes to the community. I think that the applicant is a long-standing resident of the Big Island and businessman and has a lot of experience in this area. But I also, I do think it's incumbent on me to really highlight the anxiety stems from a sense of really not understanding what the overarching plan is for this area and how this fit into that plan. My hope is that Planning Director Kern as you're going forward making recommendations in favor of projects like this that you're contextualizing it in a way that promotes a sense of trust in the community and a sense of security in the ideas behind it and what the overarching plan is. Because what we don't need in Waimea is another commercial business not connected to commercial business one block down by sidewalks for example and by bike paths and alternate transportation routes and those kinds of things. What the community is suffering from is a lack of cohesion in the planning of the community and that is my hesitation in supporting this project. DEFRANCO: Thank you. Were you here in 2021 when they presented, okay. Thank you. Do we have any more discussions. VITOUSEK: Chair. DEFRANCO: Oh wait a minute. VITOUSEK: Oh, is there something else? DEFRANCO: No, okay. Yes. VITOUSEK: Okay. DEFRANCO: Commissioner Vitousek. VITOUSEK: Mahalo. As all the Commissioners know this is something that's going to be decided by the County Council, both of these items. So we're here to provide a recommendation on what we think, if this is an appropriate zoning or not for this area. No disrespect to the applicants. They're definitely valued members of the community, all that and that's not in question. To me, I just don't think that this is an appropriate zoning for this area at this time. I think it's doing too much in an area where we're transitioning into the country, not like the rural designation. But I think there's too many outstanding issues with traffic and for me if we're adding a commercial development of this size into an area that's on the fringe of the town, I think we need to have the traffic issues addressed in advance. So, for me I would give an unfavorable recommendation for those reasons. DEFRANCO: Thank you. I think I feel sort of the opposite of that. I like the way that they came back, and they made the, they changed the size of the lots in the back and made it affordable and all of us need more homes to live in for the families to live in. And I think they've looked at the land and listening to them after they did this massive cleanup because it used to be a dump there. Cleaning up the whole piece of land, bringing it back into life and then presenting something realizing that it wasn't the best interest of the community. Went back and redesigned it 15 EXHIBIT B