2014-12-18 Leeward Exh A (Amend Zoning Code Bill No. 281)

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opportunity to provide their opinions or their thoughts on the application or what’s being developed in and around their community. So the way I read it, you know, the focus is there as well. Any more questions of staff, Commissioners? Thank you, Daryn. We have three individuals in the audience who have signed up for testimony. I’d like to call you up: Joel Cooperson, Joel Cohen and Mark Van Pernis. Before we begin, I’d like to swear you in. Do you swear – please raise your right hands – do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes. I do. BEAUDET: Starting at the far right, if you could please just state your name and your place of residence, and if you could speak into the mike. COHEN: My name is Joel Cohen. I’m a resident of Waimea. BEAUDET: Thank you. Sir? VAN PERNIS: I’m Mark Van Pernis. I live in Makalei Estates in Kona. BEAUDET: Thank you. COOPERSON: My name is Joel Cooperson, and I live at Heights at Hualālai on Hualālai Road. BEAUDET: We are ready for your testimony. If we could start with you, sir. COHEN: Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak before the Commission. BEAUDET: I’m sorry, could you restate your name just for the record? COHEN: Joel Cohen, C-O-H-E-N, middle initial J, speaking as an individual – I’ll emphasize that. I hope everybody had received my written testimony, it’s pretty general. I think what it really comes down to is the words, “public policy,” “long-term thinking,” “strategic planning,” that we have a consistent process that is open to the public, and has opportunities not just within 100 yards of their, or 100 feet or 500 feet, from their property but anybody that’s affected, that the County when there is, not necessarily this two-acre, you know, proposal at Mauna Lani or whatever that most likely decisions to be made very quickly on that, but when we are dealing with large parcels that affect a lot of people and affect water supply and affect a host of things, including things that are not even involved with the County directly, like schools and so forth, but do affect the community on the long haul, that we have to have as open a process as possible. I think by having an open process it basically benefits both the people in the community and also the county as a whole voting legal issues and so forth and so on. I always like to use the expression, “figure it out,” and I think that’s what’s really important that we all work together. I think we all have the same objectives; we live on a beautiful island that we want to protect and we want to take care of, and we don’t want to abuse, we don’t want people just doing whatever they want to do. However, your people can develop their own property and they can develop it. If they do it in an aloha manner, this is, we are going to grow, but let’s grow and make sure that we have certain standards and so forth. 5 EXHIBIT A