PL-REZ-2023-000053 01.26.24 Email Lou Rhoades Tetimony

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Rezoning of 1081 Manono Street. Tax Map Key (3) 2-2-036: 076 Lou Rhoades 1045 Manono Street, TMK 32203677 Hilo, HI 96720 808 895-2976 I would like express my objection to the change in zoning for the above listed property. Listed below are a few of the reasons I believe the change in zoning is a bad idea. I have owned and lived at 1045 Manono Street for almost twenty eight years. In 2005 many from the neighborhood objected to the change in zoning to 1046 Manono Street, TMK 322027042. The change was approved with stipulations. The rationale for that change has proven to be false and the promises made at the time have not been kept. See below. The rationale for changing the zoning of 1046 Manono Street, across the street form our house at 1045 Manono Street, has proven to be untrue. The then owner said, at the Planning Commission Hearing on the rezoning request, that the change was needed because there was a shortage of business space available in Hilo and he needed it for his mortgage company. No business ever went in, proving that there was no need for the change. Those of us who were against the change were told that the change was made but the appearance of the house could not be changed. The house has now been torn down leaving an empty, overgrown lot, so much for no change in appearance. More proof that zoning changes are destroying the neighborhood is just down the street at 972 Manono Street TMK 322027038. Three lots were consolidated into one and the zoning changed in 2016, and now two of the former lots are being used as what I would call a"dirt and gravel base yard" and the house that is left is abandoned and falling apart where it stands. That zoning change has resulted in nothing but ugliness. Traffic at the busier times of day is making it hard to exit our driveway and it will be much worse for the lot in question. Customers and employees will have a difficult time entering and exiting the property at the busier times of day. On Lanikaula Street, between Kilauea and Kinoole Streets is what I would call a strip mall that has had several businesses that have started up and failed. One example was a Subway Sandwich. It appears to me the reason they fail is the difficulty of entering and exiting from such a busy street. This property is going to have the same problem only worse. Trust. In my opinion, one of the most important reasons for residential zoning is so when you buy a home in a residential neighborhood you can trust that a business is not going to go in next door to you. If the zoning can be changed without a very compelling reason, the zoning means nothing. This is one good example of why people do not trust their elected officials. Mixed use areas are not ideal for either residents or businesses. What is ideal for residential areas is very different from what is ideal for commercial areas so there will always be unnecessary conflicts when you mix the two. Waikea House Lots is/was an ideal, already established, in the center of everything, residential neighborhood in Hilo. As more businesses move into the area it becomes less attractive as a residential neighborhood and the exodus of residents from the area accelerates. When the residents are gone there is no need for the businesses so the area dies. You see it in cities all over the US. Hilo needs more residential housing not less. If we keep loosing our residential housing, the only people living in Hilo will be the homeless. If Hilo needs zoning changes it should be to residential, not from residential. How can anyone expect the homeless situation to improve if we keep reducing the number of residential properties. OVER