2009-11-06 TBOSCHETTI - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

This is going to occur in Hilo, this is going to occur in other parts of Hilo as time goes by, or Hilo will stagnate and it will not grow. And then what you’ll have is neighborhoods that fall into disrepair over time, as has happened in various parts of this island as you have change occur, unless you have an infusion of new people coming in. And from the old Kona, the Hilo Community Development Plan which is still in effect and is actually referenced in these documents, it talks about this area being suitable for Multiple-Family. WOODWARD: Thank you. Any further comments? Commissioner Iwashita. IWASHITA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with pretty much everything the Director said. I just wanted to say that, you know, in terms of, to me it’s really a question of process. Right? Everybody is civil, we all, you know, you show up here because of the notice and your particular concerns about what’s on the agenda. We have to address making decisions, recommendations to the County Council. That’s your other opportunity in our process, right? No matter what we do on this issue we don’t actually decide. We’re making a recommendation to the County Council. So the County Council in the end has to decide whether this zoning change goes through; and everybody here with any concern has an opportunity to go the Council when it addresses these matters in the committee and then before the full Council. To me it gets there. So that’s the way the process works. Now it’s the same process that Maui uses. It’s the same process that Oahu uses for the last 50 years to get where it got. Everything on Oahu is planned. That’s my biggest pitch – it’s that Oahu planned what it has and it complains all the time about where it’s at. Right? And, my pitch for community development plan is that it’s a different way to do something to do it. And if we want to do it different from Oahu, if we want to do it different from Maui, then that’s the way we should be going, not consider on a developer-by-developer basis what to rezone. Because if we keep doing that, in 30, 40 years I will, even though my son is 22, I will, It will offer him up. Right? You know that, I guarantee you that it will be there in some form. Actually we have an opportunity to make bigger mess-ups because we have, what, 20 times more land than the rest of the State? I don’t know, maybe that’s 10, or whatever it is. Right? We have much more land to mess up. Can you imagine Hawaii Kai all the way down to Ewa Beach, from Puna all the way up to Honokaa? Because that’s where we’re headed if we don’t do something different. We really need to do something different. And that’s basically what my concern is. Mr. Domingo is right, my Fellow Commissioner is right, about the General Plan and the way the law works. It’s my opinion that when community development plans are developed, are done , that you know, it can make recommendations on changing the General Plan to con -, you know, so that the community‘s effort on how it wants to see the development done in Hilo or wherever that those changes can be made on the General Plan. And the General Plan is the authorized, the General Plan does authorize the Community Development Plan process. Actually, it requires it to implement the General Plan. So, you know, there’s a dynamic that goes on there. Thank you, Mr. Chair. WOODWARD: Thank you, Commissioner Iwashita. Any further comments? All right, seeing none, Maija, let’s take the vote. 16 EXHIBIT A