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large event category, having, you know, I have actually organized events where 450,000 people
<br />showed up, not here on the island. And there were problems; it shut down the Bay Bridge and the
<br />Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. So, yeah, there are challenges. And from that, from learning
<br />from those situations, or those events I put on, I try to educate people that are event planners here
<br />for large events on the island that they wouldn’t do on small properties, and they don’t get, they
<br />always get the understanding for a need to have more portable toilets. I really like, I would say that
<br />there is a big hoo-hah a while back about the putting an extra turnabout for one Ag property in one
<br />instance I saw a number of years ago, that was an incredible suggestion, maybe it was even
<br />required. Sometimes we need, people need to have more parking, and they need to have more
<br />latrines. And to work with your neighbors like, you know, if they are going to have a big event like
<br />that, we equip the neighbor to have, want the next door neighbor’s place to be where the parking is,
<br />not on the road, you know, work with the neighbors in advance. There is a big problem with the
<br />events on the island in that a lot of the events themselves are having a hard time communicating
<br />with the other events in that they may all do their event on the same day, maybe four or five really
<br />good events on the same day, and they need to only have one really good event on each day just
<br />because it hurts the events. So there is a need for everybody to work together and talk more as well.
<br />I’m sorry, you had a question?
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: No, I don’t have a question. I’m just going to ask you to please summarize, you know,
<br />just summarize your comments because we do have other people who would like to testify as well.
<br />
<br />BETLACH: Okay. Well, I think the greater issue here is just that we need to have things that deal
<br />with the nuisances that legitimate ag tourism establishments are going to be very concerned about
<br />what they can do to make the guests, as well as their neighbors, very comfortable, and, but it’s,
<br />again, it’s coming together in talking and spending the time rather than just crying wolf and putting
<br />the owners on the complaint-driven system or, you know, trying to get the one-size-fits-all. So,
<br />that’s just, I’m going to leave it at that.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Thank you. Thank you very much.
<br />
<br />BETLACH: Yeah, thank you.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Commissioners, do you have any questions of the testifier? Hearing none, thank you, sir.
<br />I know Nancy Ginter-Miller is already up here. Lani Weigert and Brian Lievens – I hope I
<br />pronounced your names correctly. Will the three of you please raise your right hand. Do you swear
<br />or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i County Planning
<br />Commission?
<br />
<br />TESTIFIERS: Yes, I do.
<br />
<br />GIFFIN: Thank you. Nancy Ginter-Miller, please begin your testimony.
<br />
<br />GINTER-MILLER: Yes. Aloha and good morning. Just a quick background. I am a little sad that
<br />some of the people that testified earlier aren’t here to listen to the rest of this as well. I started with
<br />agricultural tourism in 2006, and I have been diligently working on this for many, many years; so I
<br />am aware of all of the transitions. And I do think that people did need to understand where the
<br />Hawai‘i State agricultural law sits and then where the County sits. For those of you in the room that
<br />don’t know, the Hawai‘i State has regulations of the uses of agricultural land. They don’t allow
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