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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0896.064 2022-2024 P/ c 11,9 COMM,PC. From: inabapacific ' Sent: Sunday,June 16, 2024 10:59 PM r `C To: Council Testimony (a= '{ Subject: Oppose Bill 169 Kona Three LLC Attachments: LPC KV3 Quorum.docx _1 r� ****Opposing Kona Three LLC and any re-establishment of 40 year old expired permits or any sgtens'ons. Oppose Bill 169 and related.**** Dear County Council Members of the Subcommittee Legislative Approvals and Acquisition, The public, our people, needs to see that government works and actually hears what the community is sharing.This has been a multi-year process with very earnest and caring people giving their time to help preserve a rare and important open space in Kona in an area otherwise quite dense in housing and infrastructure stress. After years of working to protect this land and going through all the process steps that were required,we found ourselves waiting to go back to Leeward Planning Commission (LPC)for additional input and feedback on this issue, unpopular, and very damaging project. Learning that the Kona Three LLC partners(LLC partners) made the leap past LPC to Council with the claim that they were not able to be heard in a timely manner due to a quorum issues. They failed to mention that they had removed themselves from agenda multiple times which in essence created the situation. (See attached documentation of the quorum issues versus the number of times they themselves removed this issue from the agenda.) Why would they make such a leap?Well, during the LPC meeting the chairperson (Michael Vitousek) had indicated that he was inclined after discussion to increase any amount of required 'affordable housing' from 10%to 30%, it also was stated that it should be built before anything else was allowed or permitted. The final discussion boiled down to about 20%, it was still on the table for review to increase that number when they returned to LPC.Those of us that attended the meeting know this, it's also notable and obvious in watching the video of the meeting from December 2022. It's incumbent on Council members to understand what's really happened so that they are not duped into believing something that just simply isn't true.The other important part of the LPC meeting from December 2022, is that the issue was referred to the Cultural Resources Commission (CRC).The flavor of the discussion for LPC was that this was not a popular project but if it got a clear green light from CRC, and only if it did, LPC would consider forwarding to Council with noted concerns, restrictions, and requirements. The LLC partners project did not get anything even close to a green light from CRC. To the contrary,the CRC concluded after hours of testimony and discussion that this land should be"preserved in perpetuity". Perhaps therein lies the reason to contrive a reason to jump past LPC. If the process works then this effort by the LLC partners is finished, no permits no revisiting 1984, no extensions.The public has been prepared and specific about the risk and the dangers of this proposed 1 Comm. N • Ref. To: Ref. Date 1 8 2024 development. Council members should afford themselves the opportunity to review the last several years of testimony that the public, not just in our district but also in and around West Hawai'i as well as cultural stakeholders across the state have shared. I strongly believe, as do others,that no Council member should vote on this issue if they have not reviewed the record of testimony with strong facts and data to support the concerns that have been enumerated repeatedly over the past many years, inclusive of the video tape records.Absent a review and full understanding,this Committee and the Council can only vote"No". Even more powerfully, after viewing the testimony from all the multiple forums over the past many years the answer would be the same. It has to be a "No". No to any refreshing of the 1984 original permits set forth by the Hilo government which impacted Kona communities, a no to any changes in zoning or extensions of long since expired permits. Times have changed since 1984,to not recognize that and to go recklessly forward based upon the ever- changing story told by the LLC partners and their agents and cohorts would be folly, dangerous and costly folly.This is not the legacy you want the 2024 Hawaii County Council to be remembered for in the future when Kona floods, infrastructure is more constrained and strained than it already is,traffic cannot even move, people are harmed because of inadequate, unsafe roadways unable handle another 1,000 cars daily in an already very densely populated area...endangered species and habitats are lost and cultural, archaeological and historical features unique to this land are lost forever.Wow is that a legacy anybody really wants to sign up for especially when there is no compelling reason to do this and every reason not to allow the LLC partners to move forward? It's the wrong time, it's the wrong place,the risks are too great for our people now and into the future and for the land now and into the future. Desecration of these lands and habitats creates far more problems than you can even imagine particularly only listening to 3 minute public testimony person by person! There will be flooding,there will be roadway accidents,there will be loss of species, loss of habitats, loss of open space when this could have been sold to PONC for a huge profit to the LLC partners, loss of a remaining piece of Hawai'i history, etc.Alternatively, the county and its people/taxpayers will be stuck holding the bill to correct all the damage that will most assuredly happen if anything related to this development is allowed to continue. It is time to stop this. The 1984 thinking did not take into account the need for open spaces, it did not take into account the absolute necessity of green spaces to counteract issues with climate change and global warming, it did not take into account the needs and desires of keeping parts of our Island still Hawai'i and not Honolulu or some Mainland densely packed city.That's not who we are,that's not who we want to be, and that will ruin what is special about this place. There are no songs or poems in celebration for of desecration, sacrifice and loss of life be it human or endangered species or the cultural features that live on this land.They're no songs of celebration about how builders destroy the land, only songs of sorrow and sadness for the generations to come for what you choose to do next. I implore you to please hear the people. Listen to their earnestness,to their heart,to their wisdom after being in the trenches learning about this land and its value over the past many years.This has become a cry of their heart/s.Also remember that for all of those you see before you for presentation of testimony and all the testimony you get in writing,there are hundreds more behind us that also object to the LLC partners efforts, e.g., a petition against any further development on these particular significant lands has 2 over a thousand signatures. 1,000+ signatures is a lot of people focused on what happens with your pending decisions. It goes back to this, does government work, does process work, do our elected, paid councilman and volunteer board people actually hear the people? Do our elected Council members actually hear, honor and respect the mana'o and recommendations of the committee members and commissioners placed on these important County commissions and committees? If you watch the entirety of the CRC meeting on this topic from 2023 you have no doubt as to what you need to do with this decision. If you ignore the recommendation then why are there committees and commissions that roll up to the Council? If they're not to be heard or acknowledged for their roles why would we ask them for input or wisdom on their areas of concern? CRC, preserve this land in perpetuity. Hear them, hear the people. Make the decision that is for life and protection that endures for seven generations and leans into preservation and creation and not into destruction or increased risk to our land and communities of flora and fauna, species and people. This is not the time nor the place nor the right parties. I urge you to give the LLC partners efforts no more runway to ultimately create far more harm than benefit. Respectfully submitted, Renee Inaba Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i inabapacific@aol.com attachment 3 ---- Forwarded Message---- From: "Jackson, Maija" <Maija.Jackson@hawaiicounty.gov> To: "inabapacific@aol.com" <inabapacific@aol.com> Sent: Mon,Jun 3, 2024 at 5:36 PM Subject: Kona Three LLC Project- Royal Vistas Housing Project Aloha Rene, Chairperson DeFranco informed me that you asked about the Leeward Planning Commission meetings in 2023 and 2024 and which meetings were not held due to a lack of quorum.The attached letter explains why the Kona Three LLC application was forwarded to the County Council with an unfavorable recommendation. In 2023,the 2/16,7/20 and 12/21 meetings were cancelled due to a lack of quorum. Meetings were not held on 9/21, 10/19, 11/16 because the applicants for the two items tentatively scheduled requested to defer hearing their applications. In 2024,the 1/18,3/21 and 5/23 meetings were cancelled due to lack of quorum.The 2/15 meeting was cancelled due to publication problems with the Hawaii Tribune Herald in order to meet Sunshine Law requirements.A special meeting was held on 2/29 to hear the items scheduled for the 2/15 meeting and a special meeting was held on 5/22 to hear the items scheduled for 5/23. I hope this information is helpful to you. Thank you, Haifa Jackson, Planning Program Manager Leeward and Windward Planning Commissions and Special Management Area(SMA)/Shoreline Permitting County of Hawaii Planning Department 808-961-8159