2012-02-02 Windward Transcript Galan

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development in Pahoa we want to work with them. And that is what we’ve, the message has been conveyed. So when you look at this application for the Galans the point is, yes, it is about parking, it’s about the impracticality of a u-shaped one-way traffic pattern with 18 parking spaces, multiple bungalows, retail space, hotel/resort type atmosphere above the retail space. Yes, in a perfect setting that would be wonderful. But is it going to work for Pahoa right now? We have so many struggles right now. We have a lack of police presence. Mrs. Kajiyama is going to have to walk through some dereliction and drug dealing that goes on in this heart of Pahoa. So what happens now with Mrs. Galan’s property is that she is not there and she's currently not renting it out. And so what you have are you have the street people who come, and they hide out in the carport and on the back stoop, and they do their thing in her property. And it is up to me as the property owner who sees it through the back window of our property to call the police. I have, you can, as part of my testimony, you could go to the police and you could find out how many calls for service Jeff Hunt’s Surfboard and Tiffany Edwards Hunt has had for that property, trying to deal with the dereliction over there. So to propose more bungalows and more little places and spaces to hide out that are neighboring my property, our property, there is a concern. And then step away from my property and look at Pahoa, there is a concern. We need to have the stakeholders of Pahoa working with the different merchants and the people that are trying to do what they are pitching in this proposal, you see. I want to make sure that Pahoa is safe when I drive away, and that my property is in, it is protected not only from the dereliction, but also from people who are with not the right intentions for Pahoa. This property since the Galans, you asked her how long she has lived there. And the response was, oh, when they bought it way back when they spent a little time there staying at the place trying to fix it up. And then you didn’t, it was kind of illusive. Like did she ever live there? No. She doesn’t live there. She lives on the other side of the island. There’s no stake in Pahoa. If you look at the MLS Listing, it has been for sale more than it has been not. Okay? And it has fluctuated with the times, the cost of the property. Now it’s for sale for $200,000, plus the adjacent property $50,000. Jeff Hunt’s Surboards first got involved with this because it was proposed to be sold to a competitor. So that is even how I started looking at it. My child was two weeks old. If you look at my child right now, my child is almost one year. That’s how long we’ve been involved with this. So it’s all with the intention of trying to protect Pahoa, avoid speculation. And then on a practical sense it’s saying, yes, we need to have that area developed. If Mrs. Galan doesn’t want to do the development, sell it, stop trying to go for the highest figure that she can get, wanting to sell the neighboring parcel with the parcel and just sell it to someone who genuinely wants to develop. Let that person put in the rezoning application, and then we can work on the conditions for how to meet the flood concerns, the traffic concerns, all the myriad of concerns. Because this is right in the middle of Pahoa, right across the street from Mrs. Kajiyama and right across the street from an 80-year old business. Even just the idea of demolishing this building, that’s going to take some consciousness. And, yeah, it is legal to rezone for speculation gain, but that technically is what’s wrong with Hawai‘i right now. It is people who have no intention of doing something, and just because of the letter of the law they can do it, and because the General Plan says you can do it, doing it. So I’m sure you’ve heard enough. I’ve come here and spoken. And also I just want to say I’d love to see the testimony in support because my understanding is that the merchants 10 EXHIBIT B