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Who will han- what kind, what do we do with the sewage, the water demands, and the power
<br />demands on our grid? We have frequent blackouts, as you know, of power. Is there going to be
<br />any type of limit to what we can possibly provide for further expansion?
<br />
<br />The, I’m speaking as a person, there are also other animals that use the shore. We have the turtles.
<br />There’s, oh, don’t worry, we will take big plastic fencing any time there is, the turtle will be
<br />surrounded by fencing. If I were a turtle on the beach and someone came with plastic fencing,
<br />okay, it’s time for me to leave now, and the turtle will vacate. What about the sand crabs? What
<br />about the herons? What about the seasonal birds that come to be on Hawai‘i? Who will stand up
<br />for them to say this is too much population density? We need to limit.
<br />
<br />I wholeheartedly agree that we do need transition from this is open, this is resort. Why must we
<br />develop to the very end? Why cannot we have a transition period? For those various reasons,
<br />again, I strongly recommend that you please deny the access, the request to amend SMA 412 and
<br />allow so much dense development in that particular land, which cannot stand by itself. It must
<br />rely on the other parcel; it should be treated as one parcel. Thank you for your consideration.
<br />Aloha.
<br />
<br />UNGER: Aloha. Thank you. You all may be seated. Thank you. David\[sic\] Harlow, Francois
<br />Arlhac, Mereane Hamatake, Joel Cohen, Julia Alos and Richard Brock. Rick Gmirkin. You can
<br />start, Mr. Gmirkin.
<br />
<br />GMIRKIN: Aloha mai kākou. My name is Rick Gmirkin. I’m the archaeologist for Ala Kahakai
<br />National Historic Trail. Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, thank you very much for allowing Ala
<br />Kahakai to provide comments regarding Waikoloa BC. The presentation earlier this morning by
<br />the applicant was well received I think for some of the aspects, removal of the pool and also the
<br />event lawn and facility. That being said, that broader landscape is still one of the things that we
<br />have been asking for preservation of since the beginning, since we’ve been involved in
<br />commenting on this project. So the project area, although small, is home to important cultural and
<br />natural resources, including 14 archaeological sites comprised of over 300 features, over 230
<br />individual petroglyphs around this property, habitation complex including caves, anchialine pools,
<br />threatened and endangered species, including endangered orangeblack damselfly and the
<br />threatened green sea turtle, and of course trails. ‘Anaeho‘omalu has been a major destination for
<br />native Hawaiians for well over 800 years. As one of the major coastal hubs, or villages, in West
<br />Hawai‘i, trails enter this location from many directions, and I mean this particular parcel directed
<br />basically that main anchialine pool on the property. At least four major branches of prehistoric
<br />trails enter the subject parcel from the south and, as mentioned before, they connect to the, they
<br />connect to the Kīholo-Puakō Trail and the Ala Loa. These trails and one in particular was used all
<br />the way through historic times, and it’s evidenced by, you know, deep grooving, as well as
<br />horseshoes along the trail itself. These trails have been in use for well over 500, I would, I would
<br />say over 1,000 years. The archaeological preservation plan and project SMA heavily emphasize
<br />the preservation of those three, of three trails, and of the intensive trail network within the project
<br />area. There is still concern for all of these other trails because of the recently damaged trail, the
<br />one that was, one of the three that was intended to be preserved. Use of heavy equipment in this
<br />fragile cultural landscape will place the remaining trails and associated buffers in jeopardy. And
<br />I’m pointing more toward by the area where the cave site is, and that stretch of still intact ‘a‘ā lava
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