Planning Director's Letter to the Puna CDP Steering Committee

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for PunaÓs overall growth, although land use regulations still control the location of future commercial and industrial development. It is sometimes suggested that the county try to change the basic land use pattern created by the private subdivisions and try to reduce the potential development that can occur in them. For example, it has been suggested that we use Ðtransfer of development rightsÑ so that landowners wanting additional density in areas where urban growth is wanted could buy development rights (in this case, the right to build a home) from existing lots. While it may be a good idea to try to make more compact village clusters, requiring the purchase of development rights from other properties to do that would make it more expensive to try to create such centers, as compared to just allowing them through the zoning process. Direct regulation, such as making it difficult to build homes through zoning code changes, cannot work. The county would have to pay compensation if it tried to ban building on lots that are currently buildable. Although the question of trying to move development rights out of the existing subdivisions, or otherwise changing the pattern that they set, is one that we have asked our consultants to explore and investigate, I personally do not believe there is any feasible way to do this. The goal of county planning, including the CDP, should be to try existing land use pattern, and to try to improve life based on the existing subdivisions. This may involve trying to encourage more concentrated development in a village pattern, but this will have to be done in a way that co-exists with the subdivisions as they have been platted. Working with the present land use pattern poses serious challeng subdivisions were, for the most part, not well planned to be major population centers. Most were built with poor roads, and although the residents of some subdivision have made great improvements on their own, for the most part, the roads are substandard. A level of infrastructure that was tolerable when only a fourth of the lots were inhabited will seem less tolerable as the subdivisions build out. And the feeling of open space that brought many people to Puna will change as the population develops. I see some of the main issues for the Puna Community Development Plan as follows: 1. What are the best transportation solutions? Because the population is so dispersed, transportation is a difficult issue. Most people live far from where they work, shop, or go to school. Although we can try to reduce auto travel with more opportunities to buy basic goods closer to residential neighborhoods, the Puna Regional Circulation Plan projected that even with more village-oriented development, there would be a need for 6 highway lanes between KeaÓau and Pahoa by 2030. In recent years, about two-thirds of the total population growth in Puna is occurring in lower Puna, between KeaÓau and Kalapana, while about one-third is occurring in upper Puna, between KeaÓau and Volcano. It is obvious that the existing Hwy. 130 is already inadequate at two lanes and that additional