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<br />UNGER: I would like to hear from the Planning Director, if he would like to just throw out a
<br />few comments.
<br />
<br />YEE: Yes. So plenty of great ideas today from Commissioners, from the public, and certainly
<br />staff will, and I will, take that, talk to corporation counsel, mull it over with Windward Planning
<br />Commission, and certainly bring forth ideas to you. And they are all good ideas, right, and
<br />trying to deal with legal issues and stuff is our job.
<br />
<br />I do want to note one area that hasn’t been spoke of, which is, what’s being highlighted today are
<br />very high-profile, you know, applications that kind of brought forth this issue. What you don’t
<br />see is all the applications that we deal with, that we’ve provided administrative extensions and
<br />stuff that you don’t have to see nor do you want to see. They are small. You also don’t know all
<br />the applications that we process that deal with just a regular resident, okay, and, as we deal with
<br />those and provide extensions for administratively when they reach them. And, you know, it’s
<br />not an excuse. These big projects are certainly highlighting something we need to fix, but also
<br />understand, if you go so hard and fast, these same rules will apply; there is not a distinction in
<br />law around a big developer and your neighbor next door that’s trying to do something, okay?
<br />Granted we can try to craft language to try to address; the big differences could be within scale
<br />of a project or something. But I think people have lost sight that there are many applications,
<br />many things we process, that don’t reach you that we are trying to affect. There are many
<br />projects so far that Planning, you know, tries to shape, that we have a rub that we are trying to
<br />protect the public interest, and we do that every day and we shape those every day. What you
<br />are hearing today are a few that, you know, get to you, become higher profile, and you don’t hear
<br />the ones that we actually a lot of times help to adjust, help shape in a way that does work for the
<br />community.
<br />
<br />And so, again, not an excuse, I think there is, we definitely have heard plenty of things to fix. I
<br />certainly, you know, being the newer planning director here, it’s quite obvious to me that as time
<br />goes on, Commissions, and, you know, cyclical things that happen in the economy affect
<br />viewpoints, right, and right now we are seeing a very big change within our community. The lift
<br />the last couple of years, let’s say, has been a shift to address vacation rentals, which was within
<br />Planning, even the Planning Division of Jeff’s was a huge time commitment to be able to address
<br />that. And again, not an excuse, but I have to manage the resources we have in the Department.
<br />And so if it’s lifting up new rules on here, well, it’s going to be a significant time commitment.
<br />But meanwhile, we are still stuck with having to process applications in a timely fashion;
<br />otherwise, they are automatic approvals. So we have to balance that work. And within the civil
<br />service system, it’s not as if I can grab Planning staff from one position and say okay now you
<br />have to do this job. I wish I had the flexibility that doesn’t always occur. So when, let’s say,
<br />Jeff’s division were short two staff for a significant period of time, it really weighs heavily.
<br />Again, not an excuse, I have to manage the resource to get the job done. But I will quickly say
<br />the whole time I’ve been here, we’ve never been fully staffed, okay? And certainly within Kona
<br />it’s problematic, not that that affects the work of this Commission; that has to do with housing
<br />issues, another economics. So I’ve, from a larger perspective, community is changing, we are
<br />seeing that effect in how community is coming forth with their arguments, you know, for or
<br />against projects. We are seeing it legislatively in the projects that the Mayor wants us to affect in
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