2017-04-10 Joint Meeting Exh A (Amend Commission Rules)

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JACKSON: Okay, thank you. So, Commissioner Clarkson, I think the best place to move Part 2 to is right after Section 4-20 on Page 4-9; so Section 4-20 says, “Close of Hearing,” and then we could put Part 2 there, which is, “Post Hearing Procedure for Contested Case Hearing by Hearing Officer.” We can renumber those. And then right before what was Section 4-21, which is “Examination of Evidence by Commission,” we want to put a new heading called, “Part 3. Commission Decision.” And, so that clarifies that you have a post-hearing procedure with the hearings officer, I’m sorry, a pre-hearing procedure, a post-hearing procedure, and then it comes back to the Commission for the Commission’s decision. And then I just want to also point out some public testimony that we received this morning. You should have an email from Shannon Rudolph, an email from April Lee, an email from Cory Harden, an email from Erway Marjorie, Marjorie Erway, and an email from Avi Okin, email from Megan Lamson, and an email from – I’m not going to say this correctly – I think it’s Tlaloc Tokuda, as well as a letter from Surfrider Foundation. And that concludes my presentation. UNGER: Thank you. At this time we’d like to open up the meeting to public testimony. We have twelve people signed up to testify. If everybody who is here to testify, if you would please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth in front of the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS \[from audience\]: Yes. I do. UNGER: Thank you. So, I will call – we have two seats up here – I will call testifiers two by two. If you come up, state your name and your residence, your place of residence, and if you could speak into the mike. The mike is for hearing purposes but also for minutes. Joel Gimpel and Arlene Kimata. Please state your name and your area of residence. GIMPEL: Joel Gimpel. I live in Kailua-Kona at the Pualani Estates. Good morning and aloha. I will be brief. In the past, I’ve testified often before the Planning Committee and the Leeward Planning Commission on behalf of the Kona Traffic Safety Committee, with respect to proposed rezonings and their effects on traffic safety. I’ve also served as Chair on several County boards and commissions including the Cost of Government Commission and the Board of Appeals. Currently, I am on the West Hawai‘i Regional Board of the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, and I’m the newly elected president of the Pualani Estates Homeowners’ Association. I strongly object to the proposed changes to Rule 4 concerning contested case procedures because they will: (1) greatly diminish the public’s awareness of the Planning Commission hearings regarding contested cases, and thereby go against the very basic principles of our democracy. The people have a right to know of these proceedings; and, (2) they needlessly prevent, by banning the general public from testifying in contested cases, the Planning Commissions from hearing potentially important information such as the effect on traffic, noise, 17 EXHIBIT A