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again, we anticipate that process taking three, three and a half to four years from the point of
<br />initiation.
<br />
<br />The final step in the process then is Council review and action, and that could take any amount
<br />of time. Last time, it took several years actually, so-.
<br />
<br />So, why is the proposed amendment necessary? It really comes down to four basic, a few basic
<br />challenges. As I’ve mentioned already, under the current reading of Chapter 16 of the GP, we
<br />will, we would have had to initiate the process back in 2011 to have really gotten to the point
<br />where we’re ready to submit proposed amendments via the Planning Commissions to the County
<br />Council. The community development plans, our own in-house capacity, and then budget
<br />challenges have made that impossible.
<br />
<br />The first challenge has been the CDP’s. In February, the February 2015 deadline was
<br />established before the County started the community development planning process, and at that
<br />time we really didn’t have an idea how long those would take. The bottom line is they take a
<br />considerable amount of time to do well. We have four, three that are adopted—Kona, Puna,
<br />North and South Kohala—but two are still underway. We do anticipate that those two will be
<br />completed this year. It’s important that those community driven planning processes be
<br />completed before the GP comprehensive update.
<br />
<br />The second major challenge is department capacity. Also related to the CDP’s, didn’t have a
<br />good idea when those were included in the last GP update, how much time and effort they would
<br />take, and it’s extensive it turns out. And we’ve had some increased capacity in staffing in the
<br />Long Range Planning Department. It has-hasn’t been sufficient, and only in very recent months
<br />have we been fully staffed. And so, it’s been a struggle just to complete the first round of CDP’s
<br />and manage the new action committees that have come along with the adopted community
<br />development plans. So we haven’t simply had the in-house capacity to take on in addition to all
<br />of that the comprehensive update of the General Plan.
<br />
<br />Then, finally, as everybody knows, we’ve been facing nationally, and certainly at the State and
<br />County levels, significant fiscal challenges, and not only have we not have been offered any
<br />budget increases in the last four, five years, they’ve been consistent budget reductions, and so
<br />though we’ve, the Planning Department, has proposed funding for GP update and other items,
<br />the consistent response is “no can.” There’s no money for anything extra, and so there’s simply
<br />not the fiscal possibility of an initiating a process like this.
<br />
<br />So, again, just to review, it’s a very simple amendment that’s being proposed, and this is Chapter
<br />16 of the General Plan which is the section of the plan after all the substantive sections. It
<br />simply covers amendment procedures. It covers both interim amendments, like the one proposed
<br />today, and the comprehensive update, and so, so this is, it’s a little confusing, but this is an
<br />interim amendment being proposed by the Planning Director to amend the chapter, the section of
<br />Chapter 16, that addresses the comprehensive update. And, again, it’s simply saying rather than
<br />get through with 3-1/2 plus years of the update process by next February, we actually initiate it
<br />by then, which is how it was originally written in the 2005 General Plan, as adopted.
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<br />EXHIBIT D
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