2024-11-21 Testimony Wildfire Safety Advocates

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WILDFIRE SAFETY ADVOCATES General Plan 2045 Comments Leeward Planning Commission Nov 21,2024 CONTACT; tjJdfireWaikOloa gmail.com At the planning staff workshop in August 2024 in Kona, Zendo Kern highlighted your initiative to use the GP to set priorities which has not been done in the past. The County charter anticipates that the GP will be used for that purpose in section 10-6(a)(2) which requires that projects in the Capital Improvements budget be "aligned" with priorities in the Plan. Despite the Policy 32.20 which calls for hazard mitigation projects to be prioritized, the current GP draft only proposes priorities for waste water treatment and solid waste disposal. It should also address priorities for highway projects that implement the policies in 32h ("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"). The draft plan maps three new highways for the Waikoloa area that would implement these policy objectives, but does not prioritize them. Commenters ask that these road projects for hazard mitigation be prioritized. Projects need to be prioritized for three reasons. First, section 10-6(a)(2) of the County Charter links the selection of projects for the Capital Improvements budget to priorities established in the General Plan. The Charter makes clear that the General Plan is the appropriate planning tool for identifying priority projects that address community needs. Second the General Plan is the primary planning vehicle designed to guide growth, reflect community needs, and ensure that the impacts of growth can be accommodated in ways that protect community health and safety. With the north end of Waikoloa Village recognized as a center for significant growth, including residential development, a new library, and an expansion of the K-8 school to accommodate a growing student population, roads need to be prioritized to ensure that transportation infrastructure is adequate to serve planned new development. Third, the General Plan will serve as a guide for the development by HDOT of the Long-range surface transportation plan for the Island. Federal law requires that road projects be included in the LRTP to be eligible for federal transportation funds. The state also uses this planning process to determine if projects qualify for State funding. The second arterial road for Waikoloa Village should be prioritized in the General Plan to provide direction and guidance for the HDOT transportation plan.