|
whole question about like precedent. You know, and I don’t necessarily believe that, you know,
<br />because if approve one area or one parcel then you’re legally obligated to approve all of the other
<br />properties. Because if you take that notion, then if you have a Resort zoned property along the
<br />Bayfront or whatever have you, then it stands to reason that the whole island is going to be one
<br />zone, I mean, if you take the precedent notion. I think that decision makers like yourselves or
<br />the Council, you know, were given this responsibility to think independently and look at the
<br />facts, and then kind of make a decision accordingly.
<br />The other thing is like from a planning perspective, you know, not withstanding the so-called
<br />precedent issue is that, you know, the whole concept of zoning that we have on this island is
<br />predicated on a segregation of land uses. That’s why you have like commercial uses here, you
<br />have industrial uses and residential uses, and, you know, you can’t have that co-mingling. And
<br />in regards to that, it also was predicated upon the automobile. You know, you had to drive every
<br />place to get to that -. Today on the other hand we’re kind of like almost philosophically
<br />becoming more like full circle. And to say like, you know, the days that we used to have like
<br />plantation communities where people could walk to commercial areas or walk to your parks, so
<br />on and so forth, you know, creating walkable communities, that’s, you know, the kind of trend
<br />that we’re trying to get back on, you know, not the trend towards having everything become like
<br />a Los Angeles type, very automobile dominated. And if you look at the way the City of Hilo has
<br />grown, we’ve become very automobile dominated. And so my personal philosophy is that, well,
<br />I think that having -. You know., like the General Plan is correct, we should allow consideration
<br />for some type of commercial uses within a residential area; but if we do, we’ve got to be mindful
<br />about what the impact it has on the neighbors. And if you can provide appropriate mitigation,
<br />then I think you’ve got the problem solved. You create walkable communities. And I think this
<br />is, to me, the kind of, what his request is really all about. Tied in with that that’s why it goes
<br />back -. I appreciate what Commissioner Domingo is saying that, you know, give the developer,
<br />give the applicant the maximum land use flexibility. But if you’re trying to really foster
<br />walkable communities, being mindful of an area that’s in transition, then maybe you ought to
<br />have a condition like this. And so that’s why we’re saying that, you know, this is a condition
<br />that it’s as represented by the applicant. The applicant wants to, he’s saying that believe me,
<br />trust me. And so we’re not saying that just put it unilaterally, we want it.
<br />ALAMEDA: Okay. Commissioner Ogata?
<br />OGATA: On that note, then wouldn’t it make sense to complete the frontage
<br />requirements, improvements, so that it would be more walkable and that people from the
<br />neighborhood could walk, you know, safer to the salon.
<br />FUKE: I agree with you. The only problem, however, becomes one of financing
<br />because they’re just starting off right now. And so if you tear down a building and -. You know,
<br />from a financing perspective you want to take out a loan. So when you take out a loan then
<br />you’d be able to roll in the cost of $100,000 to $150,000 of curb, gutter, sidewalk improvements
<br />fronting it. But if on the other hand all you’re going to do is just kind of do some interior
<br />renovation, you know, to the property then it’s not going to cost you that much. So that’s why,
<br />you know, the condition which was considered for the other application, something along that
<br />line, is really workable; but it’s still restricted to personal services type. So at some point in
<br />time, you know, if, I hope that her business becomes successful if the project is approved, you
<br /> EXHIBIT B
<br />12
<br />
<br />
|