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MOOERS: Well, the problem is, this is what I think is a value of the special permit. If you were to
<br />rezone the property for example to a Village Commercial, which is consistent with what’s in the
<br />Waimea community, I don’t think the Community Association would support that because that
<br />would then allow 7-Elevens, office buildings, uses which truly aren’t compatible. I think one of the
<br />big advantages to a special permit is that you can look at it and you can condition it in ways that you
<br />can’t with zoning. So, I mean, he might come in and say, hey, you know, I’m going to do my auto
<br />body shop, so I’m going to get the CV zoning, and he gets the CV zoning, there is nothing then to
<br />prohibit him from opening up a 7-Eleven and a gas station. So that’s why, you know, I know the
<br />previous Planning Director was, you know, was deaf to special permits; he didn’t believe in them at
<br />all. I guess I’m on the other end of the spectrum; I’m saying I think they are great because it allows
<br />you to look at the area, the specific area, and apply conditions that are unique to that property that
<br />will protect the neighbors, protect the property. And I think each one is unique – maybe the issue is
<br />noise and so you need a noise buffer. When we did the ranch business for the Hannekens, there was
<br />a concern about visual impacts – you can address that. So I think there are certain advantages to
<br />special permits over zoning, you know, because once you grant zoning, then you are opening up the
<br />door to the whole list of permitted uses in the Zoning Code, where in this case you are saying,
<br />you’ve got hours of operation, only so many cars per day, the signage can be this, a landscape
<br />requirement has to be that. So I think in many ways it protects the agricultural uses much better.
<br />The reality for many of these businesses, there’s Arte’s Service or this one or Caitano’s or some of
<br />these businesses, if they are not allowed to continue here, in all likelihood they won’t continue; I
<br />mean I’m not saying that that puts down business, but that’s,in many cases, though, the financial
<br />realities of these operations is that they are not generating enough income to locate to an expensive
<br />area. And maybe that you’d decide that, well, that’s too bad, you know, I mean it really is, it’s not
<br />an appropriate use, it’s inconsistent with the agricultural area, they should go. And that’s, I feel
<br />very comfortable in coming before you with the criteria as written and say, okay, we think we’ve
<br />met the criteria for a special permit to be granted here. And my belief is, if you believe that, then
<br />you’ll grant the special permit and allow the business to continue, you know; but if it is inconsistent
<br />and if it does damage the surrounding properties and does, you know, discourage agriculture, then it
<br />should be denied. And I feel very comfortable, like I say, having you make that decision.
<br />HOUSEL: Okay, thank you. Would the Planning Director like to comment?
<br />LEITHEAD TODD: Well, the difficulty with all plans and permits that come in -. If you looked at
<br />the one that was just approved, Caitanos, farther out of town, right, Rural on the LUPAG. This one,
<br />closer to town, existing since ’95 as automotive repair, prior to that, facilities were used for farm
<br />equipment repair, right, the tractors, so the buildings already existed and were used for a type of
<br />automotive repair, which was more related to agriculture; so he’s trying to make use of the facilities
<br />that were there. I don’t know that we’ve had any complaints. I didn’t, you know, see the
<br />community complaining or saying shut it down. This is Low Density Urban as opposed to Rural,
<br />which was just approved. And typically, when you are looking at applications and uses, something
<br />that’s located in Urban, is more appropriate for this particular use than in the Rural area. But what
<br />we were looking at, when we looked at this, is this originally came in in ’95 and they were given a
<br />time limit, you know, it was like you can do this for a while but you need to move, because the
<br />vision back in ’95 was that there was going to be created more commercial land and more
<br />opportunities in Waimea. The reality that I think has occurred is that those areas that are
<br />commercial, because they are developed for not just somebody doing automotive but also for retail,
<br />which you get much more traffic and much more revenue, that it becomes unaffordable for guys
<br />that are doing small businesses like this where they’re basically just handling a handful of cars, like
<br />the Caitanos. The other, I think, thing that has become difficult in terms of Waimea is trying to
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