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for the rezoning – we are. But is this really a safety issue to the level that would require this type of
<br />improvement? A lot of these roads, people drive slow. It’s like an alley. I’m not sure that, you
<br />know, the traffic congestion or safety really rise to the level that’s been suggested. This is a
<br />beautiful and unique area of Kona, and to some people this is quintessential Kona, a rural Kona.
<br />These lots lined with rock walls all along here, this is a Kona, you know, Māmalahoa Scenic
<br />Byway, they call it. It’s a beautiful drive, up on the mountain road. The level of traffic on that
<br />road, let alone the traffic on Old Government Road, is not very high. The building that they were
<br />talking about across the street was built in 1897, and is a Kona Heritage Site. The walls were
<br />probably built with that building. I don’t think that’s ever, you know, going to be torn down. So
<br />actually, this condition, I believe, would kill this project. I think it shouldn’t be left to Public
<br />Works, because this is a planning decision. You know, standardized engineered roads are
<br />sometimes desirable and always a factor, but they are not the only factor. And it’s noted in the
<br />Planning Department in their recommendation; Kona, the Kona CDP Policy, Land Use Policy 3 is
<br />to preserve the rural character of the existing rural towns. And the State plan calls for an
<br />environment characterized by beauty and uniqueness. This is a cultural heritage area that should be
<br />preserved. And you say, well, don’t do the rezoning. But if you don’t do the rezoning, I mean, they
<br />have to sell the property, you have a new owner, he could put a hedge in there, he doesn’t have to
<br />allow anyone to park there. People at least can pull off to the side when another car is coming now.
<br />I mean, I think this land area is a benefit. So I have attached a proposed amendment for Condition
<br />E for your review. But at this time, I’d like to ask Millie to kind of talk about why they are
<br />subdividing and the project location.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Thank you.
<br />
<br />TOWATA GRAND: In 1993 my husband and I moved home to help my mother because she was
<br />all by herself. And before she entered the care facility, she asked me not to sell her land and to
<br />divide everything equally amongst my two siblings. So in order for me to distribute two pieces of
<br />property, the three of us agreed to divide the agricultural portion into two. And in order for me to
<br />do that, I had to ask for this rezoning into a residential portion. And then, my mother was very
<br />concerned about her property, because it has been in the Hayashi family since the late 1800’s. And
<br />actually they, the first part of the building was built in 1895. And the Old Government Road was
<br />just a walking path, and later it became a jeep road, but it was very narrow. And so there were rock
<br />walls along the sides of them. And I have a picture here -. Oh, by the way, this is a book of my
<br />grandfather, and I have pictures in here that shows that the rock wall, they had a gate here a long
<br />time ago, because they had animals running around in here. And so, this is me with my
<br />grandmother. And here I have pictures of when my mother was little, but you can hardly see the
<br />path behind the house; it was just a walking path. And then they made, my brother said it was just
<br />an easement road to the – the Hose’s were back there and the Yoshidas and the Matsuos – and he
<br />said it was an easement road and my father had to give that to the County. So that’s, there were two
<br />little paved strips; there wasn’t a paved road, just two little paved strips, because the road became so
<br />muddy and rocky. And so I think the Hose’s put that in. And I also have pictures here of when we
<br />were little, and across the road was our sandbox and our laundry clothesline, and my father had to
<br />tear down a part of the rock wall where the big parking lot is now to build a carport when he bought
<br />his first car. It was like in 1949. And so, it seems like every time I came back for a visit, that road
<br />kept getting larger and larger. And actually, the house was there before the road. Let’s see -. Are
<br />there any questions?
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Commissioners, do you have any questions of the applicant?
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<br />EXHIBIT A
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