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ALAMEDA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just got finished building my house, so I’ll use a
<br />house analogy. After I poured my slab, we had an inspector come and make sure that the
<br />foundation is real solid, so that we could continue building. And it seems to me right now that
<br />we are trying to make a decision on the roof. We’re trying to get approval or come to terms what
<br />we are going to do with the roof when the foundation to me is still unstable. The foundation is
<br />not stable to me; and so until we settle that matter, like Commissioner Iwashita and I think
<br />Commissioner Domingo have suggested, I don’t feel comfortable approving this application. So
<br />I’ll vote in favor of the motion.
<br />GRAHAM: Thank you, Commissioner Alameda. Commissioner Domingo?
<br />DOMINGO: Mr. Chairman, aside from knowing that this issue is still pending, an issue
<br />connecting with this use is still pending in Court, you know, I thought about the whole procedure
<br />and the intent and the reasons for the intervenor coming into the picture; and having stated his
<br />case to Mr. Matsukawa, it was plain, clear and evident at that time that the Commissioners felt
<br />that there was merit in granting a standing to the intervenor. And that having been concluded,
<br />they went through the procedures, the various procedures of the hearings, and now we are here at
<br />this time. I look, you know, as a layperson and I’m no way in any way professional in respect
<br />with anything that you can think of, but as an individual with a family, and I think many of us
<br />can relate to this: when someone in our family passes away and when they’re buried, you know,
<br />that particular spot where the grave stands, to the family, to me, is a sacred ground because it
<br />houses one of my deceased relative or my family. For instance, for me, you know, my wife who
<br />passed away is buried in Kukuihaele County Cemetery. Every time when I go down and visit
<br />my other families, I always make it a point to go there and then visit, and you know, you seem to
<br />want to make a connection with the deceased person whom you care very much for. And I think
<br />the intervenor in this case had that same feeling, you know. And I believe that the
<br />Commissioners also at that time realized what the intervenor was trying to say and how he felt,
<br />so therefore at that time they granted him standing, you know, for him to be able to relate his
<br />concern and to argue the point and the merits of this. It goes beyond the laws that we have in our
<br />books, you know. It comes on right to here, right here, in your heart and in your mind as to how
<br />much you feel. It becomes something spiritual for an individual, and I think every one of us can
<br />realize that. You know, because we have somebody who have passed away, and have been
<br />buried at certain place, and we know as we look around and witness places in our State – we look
<br />at the Punchbowl, we look at those cemeteries, especially in Washington D.C. Arlington
<br />Memorial Cemetery – those are all sacred grounds which have a strong meaning. And I think,
<br />for the intervenor, that same feeling is in him, and that’s why he has stayed with this and fought
<br />diligently and seen what can be done. And for that reason alone, you know, I can, I don’t think
<br />that it would be proper to have a bed and breakfast on this particular parcel. Because then if it’s
<br />only one home and the person who owns it, lives in there, and enjoys the property because, you
<br />know, he has bought it, then he has built on it, and it’s a sacred place. But when you turn it into
<br />a use that is commercial in nature, I have a problem. And for that reason, I speak strongly for the
<br />motion to deny.
<br />GRAHAM: Thank you, Commissioner Domingo. Any other comments from the
<br />Commissioners? I might just, before we vote, I might just put in my own two cents on where I
<br />am coming from. When this was originally brought before us – I know some of the
<br />Commissioners here today were not there and some of the Commissioners were there – I was one
<br />who was there and I in fact voted to approve the Special Permit at that time even though I was in
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