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adoring them. Besides the other important services that we provide at SPACE, such as the weekly <br />farmers market and the HAAS Charter School satellite, we are first and foremost a performance arts <br />community center. <br /> <br />DARROW: One minute. <br /> <br />GIVENS: Thank you. These children need to spread their wings and fly. We are all at your mercy <br />right now. And we respectfully request that you dismiss the revocation and, to our special permit, so <br />that we can work together moving forward, to help us in coming into compliance for the benefit of our <br />community, and most importantly for the benefit of these children. Thank you. <br /> <br />AU: Thank you. Any questions for the testifier? Thank you. Robert Petricci, please state your name, <br />where you reside; and you have three minutes. <br /> <br />PETRICCI: Aloha. Robert Petricci, I’ve lived in Pohoiki, Hawai‘i, in Puna, for 31 years. And I just, I <br />want to thank the Commission for continuing the hearing and giving SPACE a chance. This is a <br />community model that I think should be copied. And, you know, we talk, government talks often <br />about the need for sustainability, infrastructure, roads and all these lacking things, and the roads in <br />Puna, and all these things that are lacking in Puna; and it’s true. And now you have a community <br />group that comes, and they provide a market, they provide a school, they provide all of these <br />opportunities without any cost to the government, you know, and taking traffic off the road so we’re <br />not travelling -. I really just hope you’ll really support this model. This is a, this is something that I <br />think we should see more of. And, so please work with SPACE to keep that alive. I hear that they’re <br />struggling financially now and that we may lose this because of what’s happening; and that would be a <br />big crime, that would be terrible. So please support them. Thank you. <br /> <br />AU: Thank you. Any questions for the testifier? Planning Director? <br /> <br />LEITHEAD TODD: Mr. Petricci, you know, the Planning Department and the County in general <br />supports trying to diversify economy, diversify services and provide other opportunities. The problem <br />that we have with a lot of home grown operations that have expanded in areas such as Puna is that the <br />expectations of other people who have bought land in subdivisions and built homes, they’ve a certain <br />expectation as to the type of community they’re moving into. And they buy an agricultural lot, they <br />think they’re in an agricultural community. Or they buy something, in many cases Puna people think <br />it’s mainly residential purposes that they’re purchasing into subdivisions. And when an activity next <br />door starts to grow, starts to create additional traffic in a subdivision, starts to create additional noise in <br />a subdivision, it frequently comes as a surprise to the neighbors or is not welcomed by other people in <br />the community. It may be welcomed to the people who frequent the farmers market or use the <br />services. But it frequently runs into problems with the neighbors, which is why it’s typically better to <br />come in and apply for the permit first, notify the neighbors as to what you’re going to do and the full <br />extent of what you’re going to do, than to expand what you’re doing beyond what your neighbors are <br />expecting, and then inevitably the County gets the complaints. And that’s exactly what happened here, <br />is that we had an original permit, it expanded far beyond what the original permit was, and then we <br />started getting multiple complaints about noise and traffic from people in the community. So we walk <br />a delicate balance between trying not to, trying to allow people the time to bring their places into <br />compliance, but also balancing the needs of the rest of the community and the neighbors who are <br /> 8 <br /> EXHIBIT C <br /> <br /> <br />