HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0601.023 2020-2022 P/PC,
bill 11
Comm,601
From: dwallis
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 4:44 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: re: Kumo Hou Development, County Council Planning Committee Meeting f6r bili? and
115
Dear Sir or Madam:
We have been owners of a condominium in the Waikoloa Resort Area since 2013 and wish to
strenuously oppose the Kumu Hou development(Bills 112 and 115)under consideration for Waikoloa
Beach Resort. Adding 1,164 additional timeshare units and 25 single-family home lots will forever
erase the remaining open space at Waikoloa Beach Resort,threaten an environmentally sensitive area,
stress water and power supplies, and is an affront to those who currently live in the area.
This development does nothing to benefit the community or future generations and will cause an
irreparable strain on infrastructure and precious water resources. Economic diversification will be the
big loser once again. This plan would add as many as 1200 vehicles and 4,500 individuals who will
have no interest in community building, but rather only the transient use of water, roads,trash, sewage,
and private amenities. We are already quite familiar with unruly tourist behavior, witnessing alcohol-
soaked visitors in surrounding vacation rentals and hotels, and having to listen to booming car sub
woofers and radios at all hours of the day and night. In addition to the reduction in quality of life, this
project would take a minimum additional 500,000 gallons from the Waimea aquifer each day. Note
that an average pumping of nearly 13,000,000 gallons per day is already occurring at an aquifer that
has a sustainable yield of only 16,000,000 gallons per day.
Why more timeshares and why this many? The Kona and Hilo Sewage system is already dumping
sewage in the ocean. There is no effective recycling program, and trash must be trucked to landfills.
Even though tourism has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, restaurants already have long waiting
lines, beaches are crowded, and sea life is again under threat. Will Queen K Highway be widened to
meet the increased traffic? Will evacuation be hampered by doubling the population density along the
only two evacuation exits? Will there be schools built for the influx of workers needed to support this
population? What about the strain on healthcare, police, and ambulance services that are some of the
most poorly funded, and most undermanned in the United States?
Council and Planning, please seriously consider the water this project will use, the traffic it will create, the true
amount of affordable and available workforce housing, schools, road widening, and health care infrastructure
before proceeding. The best way to avoid making a mistake is not to make it in the first place. Hawaii is
counting on you to make the right decision for current and future generations.
Sincerely,
Diane E Wallis, M.D.
Barry M Wallis, Ph.D.
Vista Waikoloa
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