2014-30 AC-Kenoi VLRP funding 13May14

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Communication No. 2014-30 May 13, 2014 To: Mayor William Kenoi Aloha, Mayor Kenoi: The Volcano Long Range Planning Subcommittee of the Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee in conjunction with The Volcano Community Association are seeking funding in the amount of$100,000 to hire a planning consultant for our draft village plan, which is at a stage where we cannot advance it further without help from a professional planner. The next stage would be to present it for formal review by Planning Department, then eventually to the Windward Planning Commission, and then to Council for approval as ordinance. We are informed that staff from the Planning Department are not available to assist us because of workload constraints. Therefore, we seek the consulting service of a professional planner. We hope you will be able to allocate funds from projects elsewhere in County that might be available but not yet allocated. The Volcano community has participated extensively in the preparation of the draft village plan, and some officials in the Planning Department have read it informally and commented. All the work on the draft plan has been done by community volunteers, none of whom has expertise in community planning. We believe that review of the draft plan by a professional planner would ensure it aligns with County and State plans, and that it is properly linked with the PCDP, and its stewardship by the PCDP Action Committee, within which we now have a subcommittee working toward this endeavor. We need to be sure we have correctly identified funding and implementing sources that are referred to in our action proposals, that the maps are displayed professionally, and that it is presented in a professional and coherent manner. We don't know of another community in Puna, or elsewhere in Hawaii County, where a draft community plan has advance so far. We believe it is a good plan, and might serve as a model for other village plans. We have carefully adhered to the style and format of the PCDP. We believe we have properly expressed the transition from concept to implementation. We have identified and prioritized the actions we believe are necessary to guide growth in our community for the next 20 or 30 years. We desire to work collaboratively with County to ensure the sustainable and planned growth of the Volcano community. We thank you in advance for helping us to secure the funding necessary for us to complete the planning process that began in Volcano nearly 20 years ago. Sincerely, Volcano Long Range Planning Subcommittee of the Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee