2024-09-26 PL-INT-2024-008832 GP 2045 Draft Comments - B. Yuhnke

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WILDFIRE SAFETY WSAW Comments-General Plan 2045 ADVOCATES �� WAINOLOA HAP, Sep 26,2024 CONTACT: 3) it will soon be half built because landowners with a vested interest in the on-going developments have submitted permit applications to excavate the right-of-way for a temporary emergency evacuation road that can be upgraded to meet the standards for a dedicated county arterial road. Clearly no second arterial road will be completed and open to traffic before the residential new development is built without public funds. The costs of these projects are significant within the context of both the County CIP budget and the State CIP. The odds of getting two funded during the next 5 years are virtually zero, and the odds of getting the Paniolo extension funded are close to zero without a major infusion of federal $. The Kamakoa Drive extension is the only option that has a reasonable chance of being affordable with available public resources this decade. The economic feasibility of projects should be a critical factor in prioritizing projects.The public cost of extending Kamakoa Dr to Q-K is far less than extending Paniolo to Kawaihae Road. The difference between the two could be as much as $100 million. The land for the Kamakoa extension is being donated by the land owners, they are constructing the initial alignment for the r-o-w, performing the environmental and cultural resource reviews, and there are no stream crossings that require bridges. The Paniolo extension to Kawaihae Road route is more than three times longer, has no commitment from landowners to donate the land, no work is being performed by private sources to lay out, excavate and build a r-o-w, and the route crosses four major gulches requiring expensive bridges. The huge additional cost of the Paniolo route ensures that NO resources will be available to complete it within this decade. Completing the Kamakoa route is at least financially feasible before the Village adds 50% more residents and the next fire emergency triggers an evacuation and the need for access by first responders from the Puako Fire Station. CONCLUSION. For these reasons discussed above, we ask that the General Plan implement policy 32.20 to prioritize hazard mitigation projects by assessing and ranking the three road projects that implement the policies in 32h ("Establish ... alternative and emergency evacuation routes in each high risk hazard area"), and 32k ("Develop and/or improve secondary access roads for those communities with only one means of ingress/egress"), and that you rank the extension of Kamakoa Drive to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway as the highest priority road project for the Waikoloa area. We also ask that the General Plan make clear that additional an access road connecting the north end of Waikoloa Villege to the regional transportation network is a critical infrastructure need that must be satisfied before any further development is approved to further increase the population in that portion of the Village. Prepared by Bob Yuhnke, on behalf of Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikoloa. Approved by— 4