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Letter of Opposition Regarding the Royal Vistas project <br /> December 13, 2022 <br /> 1 am submitting an additional letter opposing the Royal Vistas project. The reasons to not <br /> recommend approval to the County Council are provided below: <br /> 1. Traffic. The addition of 450 units will choke this busy area and intersection in Kona. In <br /> his November 15, 2022 letter to Jeff Darrow regarding comments from state and county <br /> agencies and this proposal, the Applicant's Consultant says that, "While the <br /> construction of Ali'i Highway will have some beneficial effect to traffic volumes alone <br /> Hwy 11, the Applicant feels that such effect will be limited because there is no good <br /> way to get drivers along the Ali'i Highway back to the Hwy 11 north of the congested <br /> area extending from Henry Street to the north and Kamehameha III Road to the south. <br /> If the "Ali'i Highway" is the Ali'i Parkway or Kahului'u/Keauhou Highway or other name <br /> for the paper road to nowhere that parallels and east of Ali'i Drive, then please stop <br /> referencing a non-existent road. At the October 2022 Leeward Planning Commission, <br /> Deputy Director Darrow provided an update about this paper road. Today's cost now <br /> puts the construction cost for this roadway between $200,000,000 and 250,000,000 <br /> dollars. There is no way this road will be built. For evacuation purposes, more makai- <br /> mauka roads need to be constructed. A road that would destroy significant burial <br /> grounds and other important cultural artifacts should not be pursued. <br /> 2. The near capacity of our infrastructure - such as roads, schools, hospital and medical <br /> facilities, police and fire stations, sewer treatment plant - will only be exacerbated by <br /> this proposal. Unless this developer, and all developers pay a more appropriate <br /> development impact fee to address the expansion of roads, schools, and the sewer <br /> treatment plant, no development should be allowed. <br /> 3. The lack of an identified site for affordable housing that is required from this <br /> proposal, and the Kona Vista development. It's pathetic that the affordable <br /> housing requirement for Kona Vistas has been allowed to languish for 15 plus years; <br /> now there's no land identified for the affordable housing for the Royal Vistas proposal. <br /> This issue should be decided upon, and not be a bargaining chip. In his November 15, <br /> 2022 letter to Jeff Darrow, Daryn Arai states that affordable housing is the more <br /> important issue versus the undergrouding of utilities. Both are important, and both <br /> should be included as part of the project, and not an either/or situation. <br /> Please provide the Affordable Housing Agreement between the County and Developer <br /> so the Public can review this document. <br /> Why is a manager's unit needed for the "for sale" housing? Please state if the developer <br /> is subsidizing this unit for the manager or if the manager will be paying the market price <br /> for this unit. <br /> 4. Another time extension. Imagine that. If a project was approved and never built, <br /> whether or not it received a time extension or extensions, the application is invalid. End <br /> of story. The July 2022 version of the applicant's submittal had a request for a twenty <br /> (20) year time extension. How and why did this change in the submittal document? <br /> 5. No Short Term Rentals should be allowed here. The CC&Rs should be created or <br /> amended to preclude STVR for the Royal Vistas proposal. Language like this <br /> exists in CC&Rs as a standard provision. Please be more responsible about this issue <br />