2012-09-20 Leeward Exh A - DeFranco Paleaku

Home

not so commercial as she indicates here. She indicates that she wants to have plants and statuary planted, have weddings, and all those things are not limited. She will have meetings and seminars. And what will happen to our quiet neighborhood? It’s an agriculture neighborhood. So I plead to you that let’s keep the area the way it was designated, agriculture, and not commercial. There are so few places in the Big Island that we can walk on the road in a quiet area any time of the night or day. We still have to dodge the traffic, but I can foresee lots of traffic, lots of noise. And her area isn’t large enough to accommodate all these parked cars; it’s not that large enough, and people will have to park on the road. And as it is, the road is so narrow that I don’t see how it could be a venture that is conducive to keep the neighborhood agriculture and the people happy and safe from cars that -. Cars are traveling so fast these days. I think you all realize that your own little home, little roads going in and out of neighborhoods, people are just going, driving so fast, and so you have to be alert. You can’t wear earphones and listen to music while you are walking because your life is at stake. So I can just foresee the added traffic, which would not be good for our neighborhood. It is agriculture. Thank you for listening. GIFFIN: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions of the testifier? Hearing none, thank you very much for coming and testifying. Will the applicant please come forward. I’m sure you heard the comments -. DEFRANCO: Yes. GIFFIN: And I invite you to please comment on hers. DEFRANCO: So I’ve lived there on the land for 42 years and with the awareness of my neighbors and the sensitivity to things that go on. And I’m glad that you commented. Thank you. I appreciate the comment. I also know that my response to my neighborhood is that I’m very sensitive to it. And I respond to anybody who has said something to me personally about anything taking place there. A couple of the points that I’d just like to say, as far as parking goes, we do have quite a few parking places, and it didn’t really show it here but there is an open field for extra parking; so I’ve never had for years anything happened that, where people park on the road at all. I’m very careful about that. I am, you know, began working as a neighborhood watch coordinator for a long time, and started the neighborhood watch programs in Kona, and we use Paleaku to help get those things started. So we are very sensitive to the laws and regulations, and to the use of our street. In fact, it’s 20 miles an hour to drive on Painted Church Road, and we just recently, at the last neighborhood watch Ron Thiel committed and put in two extra Stop traffic signs for us on our road; one is right across the street from Paleaku. So I am very sensitive and very aware of those things happening and taking place. And I don’t really feel there is going to be a big increase in cars there. Paleaku on Painted Church Road is located on this interesting triangle for tourists that goes down to Kealakekua Bay, Nāpo‘opo‘o, then they come down Painted Church Road to go to the very famous Painted Church and see the beautiful murals there, and then they continue on down to Pu‘uhonua; so it’s sort of this triangle of people driving through. So this is really how most people find me is just they are already driving through the area and they see the sign and come down there. I know that in a way, when I’ve written this up, it sounds like there is going to be all these events and things happening, but really that’s not the plan. I live in that neighborhood. I’m sensitive to my neighbors. And I think in my application you can see that I wrote things up to assure them that there would be no acoustical, no concert, no anything like that that would bother anybody. MOORE: And just part of this, the background is the garden has been operating for a long time; there have been a lot of activities there going on for a long time. And, you know, it came to the 7 EXHIBIT A