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be another public meeting, hearing, for the planning project approval, so I thought this rezoning
<br />is only the first public hearing and there will be a second when we deal with design which I
<br />didn’t understand that. And obviously, I, I wanted to meet with the neighbors. It’s just that I
<br />didn’t understand that I, there won’t be another public meeting for them to speak up.
<br />
<br />I just got the two letters from Maija dated before yesterday, so I told Maija that I would respond
<br />here in person instead of writing because it’s so many letters already. So let me just first respond
<br />to Mrs. Toma’s letter, real brief here. And she mentioned that, that you know I have two
<br />previous meeting planned and both cancelled on short notice for meeting, right. Actually, there
<br />was only one was planned, and I was not the one who cancelled it. Let me explain. I wrote to a,
<br />62 owners within 300 feet in trying to set up a meeting on November 14. I even bought plane
<br />tickets to come over here. And just a few days before November 14, I got a phone call from
<br />Maija, and I understand that Mrs. Nishida insisted that I should cancel that. She asked for, I give
<br />them 10 days notice, and I was told it’s not enough. It should be a 30 days notice, and also she
<br />th
<br />insisted that I should hire a facilitator. So because of that, the November 14 was cancelled, and
<br />I cancelled my plane ticket as well. So, again, I sent another 62 letters to, for the second meeting
<br />th
<br />which was December 18. Right, again, luckily that one did not get cancelled. Ok, I was glad
<br />that a good number of attendees at that meeting, and I really appreciate their attendance, and I go
<br />over that a little later.
<br />
<br />Now, Mrs. Toma also raised a lot of questions like, you know, who should I call if someone
<br />climb over the fence, you know, if someone park in front of my property. Those, I really cannot
<br />answer those questions but I did in my statement, that obviously as the project sponsor, I have to
<br />work with the traffic department, public work department, and resolve any issues that need to—a
<br />deal with that I can be responsible, but there are things that outside of properties that a--. It’s a
<br />city, you know, you know, there are traffic. Obviously, there will be a slight increase of traffic.
<br />In fact, according to a TIAR, the traffic report, a, the impact was just almost negligent (sic). You
<br />know, he was saying less than one second of delay, you know. But be that as it may, you know,
<br />I’m not going into that because it was done by someone else.
<br />
<br />And then, a, Mrs. Nishida’s letters, little bit more lengthy here. Maybe I should address that now.
<br />A, I believe I comply with just about, just about everything that Mrs. Nishida asked for. She was
<br />the only one that asked for the delay of the hearing, for the 30 days notice. She asked for
<br />facilitator, I had complied with. But there are a few things that I did not agree with her. Number
<br />one, she said this location, this here, this property, is not in the urban area which I disagree. Ok,
<br />in fact, even the County, the city documents, the whole city, the town of Hilo, including this
<br />property is considered urban area. Now, I think there is a big difference in interpretation that
<br />may affect her thinking is what I am trying to say, ok? And also, she is a licensed appraiser, and
<br />she claims that having workforce affordable housing nearby in a two-story building next door
<br />would depress the property value which I disagreed because I have support, I have gone through
<br />many of these sources from authorities saying that that is not the case, ok, and I can detail that a
<br />little bit more. The fact, and also, I think the point is maybe urban appraisal is not Mrs.
<br />Nishida’s area of expertise, which is perfectly fine, like even for doctors, you don’t go to an
<br />oncologist if you want to have a heart transplant, right? I’m a licensed architect. If you come to
<br />me, if you want me to design a hotel, I mean a hospital, I will know what to do. You know, I’m
<br />a licensed architect, but we all have areas of expertise. So, I’m not trying to say or diminish Mrs.
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