AC-PD Pahoa Plan 10May16-DRAFT - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

County of Hawai‘i PLANNING DEPARTMENT PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN – ACTION COMMITTEE William P. Kenoi Mayor Duane Kanuha Director Joaquin Gamiao-Kunkel Deputy Director East Hawai‘i Office 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 Fax (808) 961-8742 West Hawai‘i Office 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740 Phone (808) 323-4770 Fax (808) 327-3563 May 10, 2016 Duane Kanuha Planning Director Planning Department 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 SUBJECT: Planning Consultant for the Pāhoa Regional Town Center Plan & Wastewater Treatment Study Aloha Director Kanuha, Thank you for your letter dated June 6, 2015 responding to our previous requests to reconsider your decision to not move forward with the hiring of a consultant for the Pahoa Regional Town Center Master Plan and Wastewater Treatment Study. While we can appreciate the challenges the Planning Department would face taking on additional planning projects concurrent with the process of updating the General Plan at a time when critical staffing positions are vacant, we note that it has been more than a year since these vacancies came about and still they remain unfilled_ Further, we do not believe that it is reasonable to expect the residents of Puna to wait another two or more years for the updates to the General Plan to be completed and adopted before efforts are resumed in the implementation of critical actions key to village /town cen4O development in those communities where years of grass roots effort have made them ripe for fulfillment. Therefore, we respectfully urge you to redouble efforts to fill the existing vacancies and to seriously consider requesting and budgeting for additional positions in the Long Range Division as may be necessary to satisfy current planning responsibilities as well as those anticipated with the adoption of additional Community Development Plans. We further note that, if the lava flow had not occurred just as the consultant contract for the Pahoa Plan was being executed, we could be roughly half way completed with the plan by now. We are also aware of the fact that the staffing vacancies in the Planning Department's Long Range Division cited as being "foremost" among your concerns as to the plausibility of www.cohplanningdept.com Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer planningghawaiicounty.Qov