2013-09-26 Leeward Exh B - Hualalai Partners

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GIFFIN: Thank you. SCHULMAN: I was taken by Mr. Lim’s closing argument on behalf of his clients. I tend to agree in the main with all of his concerns about responsible development in the Hualālai, in the Kailua-Kona area. And I think this development has some merit, all four parcels, if they’re developed responsibly. However, my concerns have been, and continue to be, matters of public safety, and that’s all. If you look at the photographs depicting Hualālai Road presented to the Commission earlier today, you’ll see, and we can all agree, this is a substandard road, incredibly dangerous to traffic as it, in its current condition. What I heard from Lee Barrett was, I was hopeful of hearing more specific current intentions of improvement, rather than speculate on what might happen in the future. Most importantly, and my major concern, is to have a licensed State Engineer do a traffic safety study, not a traffic impact study, a traffic safety study to show just how ingress to these projects and egress from those projects onto Hualālai Road will not endanger public safety. That’s what I’d like to see. If you can present, if the developer can present a licensed engineer’s report showing how the safety of traffic and pedestrians along Hualālai Road is protected and not diminished, and that engineering report can be verified by County, independent licensed engineers, my concerns would be assuaged, I would not be here testifying. But I haven’t seen that. And Mr. Barrett has suggested we’ll figure out the best way to deal with it in the future, once we get the approval. My suggestion is you condition the approval on the obtaining of a licensed engineer’s traffic safety report. It’s not a big deal. It can be done. He can get engineer traffic impact studies, but I haven’t seen the engineering study, the safety. And if we can satisfy the safety standards, I think all the community would be put at rest, put at ease. Thank you GIFFIN: You’re welcome. Commissioners, any questions of the testifier? Thank you. Sir, your name. MADSON: My name is Tom Madson. I’m the president of the Hualālai Colony Homeowners Association, representing our association and the surrounding communities. I testified last time and I will not repeat what I said last time. GIFFIN: Thank you. MADSON: The issue -. And I appreciate Bobby Command dealing with one of the major safety issues, and it’s dealt with for the time being. I appreciate that, Bobby. COMMAND: Thank you. MADSON: And it was done rapidly too, very good. GIFFIN: Thank you. You may begin. MADSON: Thank you. I’d like to make some observations on the Planning Department’s favorable recommendation to the change of zoning request and for state land use boundary amendment application. Page 1 has some misleading terminology; the applicant’s parcel is not surrounded by Urban designated lands. The applicant’s parcel is abutted on one side only, the west side, by RS-10 zoning, to the north is A-1, to the south is A-5a, and to the East is A-1. 18 EXHIBIT B