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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0159.037 2024-2026V I �"N WNIA. Ili WILDFIRE SAFETY KXMEL 2025 Hawaii County C±QP.i170 Budget Hearings Testimony � aaI -a 5�^ WAIKot.OA HAWAII "4tl�2®2;3 CONTACT: wildfirewaikoloa�iumall.com ADD FUNDING FOR SECOND WAIKOLOA ROAD IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET TO SAVE LIVES Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikoloa asks Council to add $2.5 million to fund the engineering, design and environmental review needed to initiate a second arterial highway for Waikoloa Village to implement the Community Development Plan (CDP) adopted in 2008. 1. Waikoloa Village 2008 CDP. After a raging wild fire reached the edge of mauka residences in 2005, the County adopted the Waikoloa Village Plan "with very high priority given to the construction of a second access road connecting Waikoloa Village to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway." In the 2008 CDP, the County explained that the second road is needed to save lives. w The most significant type of natural disaster that threatens the Waikoloa community is the threat of wildfires. [T]he fire threat is an ever-present danger for the Waikoloa community, and a second access/egress road may well prove to be the difference between successful evacuation of the Village and injuries and even loss of life. Seventeen years later, no funding has been committed to implement this priority. The Lahaina fires and the 40,000 acres here that burned north of the Village on the same day in 2023 is a call to action. Funding to start the second road is needed now to provide the community by 2028 with. the highway capacity needed to evacuate in the face of the next catastrophic wildfire. 2. Lack of Highway Capacity Puts Community At Risk. The County's 2008 assessment that a single highway link between the Village and Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway is not sufficient to provide for safe evacuation during a fire emergency was made when the Village population was 5000. Now its 7500, with current workforce housing and market housing construction expected to increase the population during 2026 to 8000. Planned development will likely increase the population to 10,000 by 2030, and 22,000 by 2045 during the period covered by the proposed General Plan update. The traffic obstacle to evacuation was clearly demonstrated during the 2021 fire when Mayor Roth ordered an evacuation. Residents reported being trapped in their cars for an hour and longer while seeking to exit the Village via Waikoloa Road. The Hulu emergency exit route was open to traffic, but did not provide significant relief from travel delays. The situation would have been worse had it not occurred on Sunday when school was not in session. A wind -driven fire on a school day would put 850 children at risk because most parents work outside the Village and would need to travel into the Village to retrieve their children before seeking to exit. Had the 2021 fire burned into the Village, residents and their families would have been trapped in burning vehicles which was the cause of most deaths in Lahaina, Paradise CA in 2018, and 1) S -L r SAFETY oe& WAIKOLnA - "a WILDFIRE • • .A`� 202,5 iiaw aii Comity G�a�. ncO udget Hearings Testi�t miy WAH 41y12425 CONTACT: 1wild4irewaikoloa a r mail.com Talent OR in 2020. Future fires will be hotter, more intense and more destructive as temperatures continue to rise, summer droughts on the Leeward side of the Island become longer, vegetation more desiccated, and Red Flag wind conditions more extreme. During a future fire, after more workforce housing has been occupied by young families with kids, on a school day evacuation will be impossible without additional highway capacity. We do not need a new traffic study to know that any fire driven into the Village on high winds will trap residents and school children in burning cars. Not having adequate highway capacity to evacuate the Village puts thousands in this community in mortal danger. 3. Council Must Fund the Second Highway to Prevent Loss of Life. Mayor Alameda shocked the community during his interview with HPR after his Talk Story when he said he might complete another single lane emergency road during the next four years, but he saw no need for another arterial highway. Residents were surprised at this response because we had briefed him on the status of the second highway project in December including a report of our meeting with Ed Sniffen at HDOT last October who committed to provide state funding for the intersection with Queen K highway, and to find some federal funding to help the County construct the arterial highway. To commit federal funds, he needs to receive from the County a completed cost estimate for the alignment. At the close of the meeting, Mayor Alameda requested a summary of the actions to be taken, We followed up the briefing with an Action Plan that described the actions needed to move the project forward. Subsequently we also prepared a Report to the Mayor [see attachment to this comment] that summarized the policies in the General Plan calling for more than one access route for communities at risk from catastrophic wildfire, and the Waikoloa Village CDP that implemented that policy by planning the route for a second arterial highway identified as a "very high priority." The Mayor did not indicate at any time during the briefing and subsequent communications that he would not advance the second arterial highway adopted in the Village CDP. We now turn to Council for your support. The County DPW has not developed the engineering needed to prepare a cost estimate for future budget planning, or to provide HDOT with the information needed to seek federal funding for the project. We ask that $2.5 million be included in the 2025 CIP budget to fund the engineering work, environmental and cultural resource reviews needed to prepare the project for future construction. 4. County Charter Requires the Priority Projects be Included in CIP Budget. Second Road Must Be Included in 2025 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget. WILDFIRE SAFETY WAIY.O OA ® HAWAI 2025 Hawaii County Coat€'seal Budget Hearings Testimony 417/2025 CONTACT: enrildfirewaikoloaac mail.corn To protect Village residents from the loss of life that will occur if residents are trapped in the Village by wildfire, the County Charter requires that funding for the Project must be included in After waiting 17 years, we ask that funding for the initial project design be included in the 2025 CIP budget so that the second road can be completed and open to traffic no later than 2028. The County Charter requires that — Capital improvements shall be prioritized based on criteria aligned with the general plan, community development plans, emergency expenditures and other pertinent functional plans." Section 10-6(a)(2). Despite the County's designation of "a second access road connecting Waikoloa Village to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway" as a "very high priority" in 2008, this directive in the County Charter to prioritize capital investments in alignment with "community development plans" has not been implemented. The project has not been implemented because no funding has been committed to the project, either by requiring the road to be constructed by private parties as a condition for the approval of new residential developments in the Village, or by including the project in the CIP. The project is not included in the proposed 2025-26 CIP submitted by the Mayor to Council. This is the 17t1i CIP budget since adoption of the second road as a "very high priority" in 2008 without funding for the project. This failure clearly violates the mandate of the County Charter requiring that "capital improvements shall be prioritized based on criteria aligned with the general plan and community development plans." 5. Second Road Must Be Included in 2025 CIP Budget to Fulfill County's Constitutional Duty to Protect Each Person's Right to "a Clean and Healthful Environment." "Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment." Hawaii State Constitution, Article XI, section 9. Being exposed to a high risk of death by wildfire without access to a safe route of escape is not a healthful environment. The County has a duty to protect that right through the Plans is adopts and the investments it makes in public facilities. Long ago the County recognized the extreme fire risk to which Village residents are exposed, . and adopted a community development plan that prioritized the addition of a second access road. The County's failure to implement that plan is a failure to perform the County's duty to protect the right of Waikoloa residents to "a clean and healthful environment." Respectfully submitted by Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikoloa, Matt Chalker, Director Bob Yuhnke, Government Relations David Foster Aislinn Chalker Prepared by Bob Yuhnke (for more information contact: bob.yuhnke@yahoo.com). REPORT TO MAYOR ALAMEDA History of Planning for Second Access Road in Waikoloa Village and the Capital Improvement Program The need for a second arterial road to provide ingress/egress for Waikoloa Village was first identified when planning approval was requested for the Waikoloa Heights development before the major fire that threatened the Village in 2005. The urgent need for a second road became the dominant planning issue after the 2005 wildfire that was stopped at the mauka edge of the community thanks to heroic effort by the HFD. This report summarizes the history of planning for the road and the failure of subsequent County Administrations to implement the planning decisions. Second Road designated "High Priority Project" in 2008, But Never Funded The Waikoloa Village Plan was adopted as part of the "South Kohala Community Development Plan" (CDP) by the County in 2008.' The Waikoloa Village Plan added "action plans" and identified "priority projects" needed to support planned growth in the Village. Specifically, the Village Plan, at p. 93, identified "construction of a second access road to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway" as the first priority for the community, and adopted the following policy: Waikoloa Policy 3. PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER, including roadways, bikeways, and pedestrian paths, and with very high priority given to the construction of a second access road connecting Waikoloa Village to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway! To implement the Policy recognizing the need for a second road, the Village Plan adopted "Strategy 3.1 Plan, Fund, and Construct a Second Access Road to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. ,3 The Plan explained why this road was flagged as a high priority project: A second connecting road to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway is a top priority, both to accommodate increasing traffic volumes and, perhaps more importantly, to provide a second emergency egress route for Waikoloa residents. If feasible, the new access road should also provide pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The preferred general alignment for this second access road is shown on the Waikoloa Village Concept Plan graphic. The most significant type of natural disaster that threatens the Waikoloa community is the threat of wildfires. The area's dry climate, combined with the highly flammable introduced vegetation consisting primarily of fountain grass and kiawe trees, and the frequency of high winds make the Waikoloa area especially prone to large-scale wildfires. A 2003 brush fire threatened Waikoloa Village. The fire burned all the way up to the elementary school. Another major fire in August 2005 burned some 20,000 acres to 'South Kohala Community Development Plan; Chapter 5, Waikoloa Village Plan (Hawaii County Planning Department, 2008) [available at: paps Lwww plamlin8 hawaiicounty general-plan-community-manning/cdn/skohala/doc] . Waikoloa Village Plan, supra, at p. 97. 3 Id., p. 102. the east and south of Waikoloa Village. That fire burned to the very edge of the Waikoloa Road/Paniolo Avenue intersection, the main intersection in Waikoloa Village. In the case of the 2005 fire, fire fighters were able to control and eventually extinguish the blaze without injuries to people or damage to structures. However, the fire threat is an ever-present danger for the Waikoloa community, and a second access/egress road may well prove to be the difference between successful evacuation of the Village and injuries and even loss of life. Recent Experience Confirm Need for Second Access Road as "Very High Priority" Project to Prevent Loss of Life A. Catastrophic Wildfire Risk in Waikoloa is Highest in the State. The Lahaina Fire Incident Analysis Report commissioned by the Attorney General concluded that — Waikoloa Village on the island of Hawaii has 100% higher risk than any other place in the U.S., and is not the only community in Hawaii facing extreme risk of wildfire. a The Report noted that this high wildfire risk resulted in four fires on Hawai'i Island under the same conditions that caused the Maui fires in August, 2023. Around the North Kohala area of the island of Hawaii, the Akoni Pule Fire, continued burning for days after the Lahaina PM fire, and a fourth fire on the island (South Point) began in the following days, all driven by similar low humidity and high winds that were gusting to 80 mph. These conditions prompted several evacuations on the island of Hawaii. While less publicized, these fires caused considerable damage to structures, lands, and community infrastructure, including the destruction of an auxiliary building of the Mauna Kea Beach Resort. Fire occurrence on the island of Hawaii under the same conditions is highlighted here to acknowledge the ongoing statewide threat and the multi -island impact of the weather and fire events on August 8-9, 2023 ... is not unique.' Affordable housing is sorely needed in the County, but new housing for hundreds of families with children should not be added in a location where the fire risk is the highest in the State without assuring safe evacuation routes and first responder access during a fire emergency. Without an alternative route for residents at the north end of the Village, planned new developments will increase by half the total population trying to escape from the single existing outlet onto Waikoloa Road. The jam up that occurred during the evacuation ordered by Mayor Roth in 2021 will be far worse next time. The chances of the loss of life by Village residents similar to the deadly consequences that occurred in Lahaina will be extreme if evacuation is blocked by fire reaching Paniolo Drive or along Waikoloa Road. a Lahaina Fire Incident An�lysis Report (Fire Safety Research Institute, October 2, 2024 revision), p. 39 [available at FSRI Lahaina Report 'Redactions 10022024 Revl (1LO.pdfl. s Id , pp. 39-40. To prevent fires from destroying residential properties, the fire -fighting equipment and crew based at the Puako Fire Station will be needed when the next major fire approaches the Village. Currently trucks based in Puako can only access the Village on Waikoloa Road. The Hulu emergency route is a single lane without shoulders providing one-way travel for vehicles exiting the Village. The fire crew cannot access the Village if Waikoloa road is blocked, or fire has burned into the Village blocking access to the north end of the Village. A second road along the alignment of Kamakoa Drive would provide the Puako fire crew critical access to the north end of the Village. B. Increased Population at Risk and Expected Growth. Since the Waikoloa Village Plan was adopted in 2008, the need for a second road has become increasingly urgent because of the growing population at risk. The Village is the fastest growing urbanized area in the County, with the population having increased about 50% from 5,000 residents when the 2025 General Plan was adopted (2005) to about 7500 residents in 2025. Waikoloa Village is now the third largest urbanized area in the County after Hilo and Kona. Growth planned for the Village anticipates that population will increase by adding approximately another 15,000 residents. The Community Development Plan for Waikoloa Village shows that 7100 new dwelling units were planned for the Village as of 2008, with a potential buildout of more than 8000 new units.' With approximately 3500 dwelling units currently built, and assuming that the occupancy rate will remain at about 2.3lunit, planned development will triple the population of the Village to more than 22,000 residents when these developments are completed and occupied. New housing is currently under construction in the Village as part of the Kamakoa Nui and Nana Kai developments at the north end of the Village adjacent to the current terminus of Paniolo Drive. Construction has commenced on the first phase of the County's affordable housing project, Na Hale Makoa fronting on Kamakoa Drive, and in Nana Kai mauka from the intersection of Kamakoa Drive with Paniolo Drive. These projects are expected to add another 2000 residents within this decade. Additional projects are planned within these developments at the north end of the Village that will likely increase the Village population to more than 11,000 during the planning horizon for the 2045 General Plan. Given that the current road network was inadequate to evacuate the Village during the fire emergency evacuation ordered in 2021, the increased population needing to be evacuated during the next fire emergency will put more residents at risk of being trapped in burning houses or vehicles. C. General Plan Policies Give Priority to "Hazard Mitigation" Projects The General Plan contains the following policies to govern planning for transportation infrastructure needed to "protect the health and safety of residents and visitors": 6 South Kohala CDP, Chptr 5; Table 5.2 Planned Build Out and Potential Future Buildout in Waikoloa Area, pp. 90-91. 3 32.h. Establish, map and maintain alternative and emergency evacuation routes in each high risk hazard area. 32.k. Develop and/or improve secondary access roads for those communities with only one means of ingress/egress. 32.20 Prioritize hazard mitigation projects in the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan). The Lahaina Fire Incident Report prepared for the Attorney General by the Fire Research Safety Institute establishes that Waikoloa is the highest fire hazard area in the County and the State. The Community Development Plan for Waikoloa Village has recognized since 2008 that an "alternative evacuation route" is needed to prevent the "loss of life" in the Village, and the route for a second access route has been planned as a "high priority project" since 2008. The draft 2045 GP lists seven road projects for the Waikoloa area between Waikoloa Road and Kawaihae Road. Policy 32.20 makes clear that only transportation projects that implement the policies adopted in the Plan are eligible for consideration as "priority hazard mitigation projects." Three of the seven projects mapped for the Waikoloa area satisfy the policies to "establish alternative and emergency evacuation routes in high risk hazard areas," and "develop and/or improve secondary access roads for communities with only one means of ingress/egress": (i) the Hulu widening and upgrade, (ii) the Kamakoa Drive extension to Queen Ka'ahumanu highway (SR 19), and (iii) the extension of Paniolo Drive to Kawaihae Road. Only two of these alternative alignments implement the priority project identified in the Waikoloa Village CDP, i.e., connect Paniolo Drive with Queen Ka'ahumanu highway (Hulu and Kamakoa Drive), and only one project follows the conceptual alignment shown in the CDP that connects the north end of the Village where new development in currently underway with Queen Ka'ahumanu highway (Kamakoa Drive). The final alignment for the second road would not be made in the General Plan, but would be made by the Department of Public Works as part of the environmental review process requited by the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act. HRS Chapter 343. But the General Plan should establish a schedule for DPW to complete this project review to select the final alignment for completion of the road as soon as possible because — 1. Waikoloa Village is the highest wildfire risk hazard area in the State of Hawai'i with only one arterial access road; 2. Waikoloa Village has experienced wildfires in 2005, 2018, 2021 and 2023 that threatened lives and property, and triggered the need to evacuate residents; 3. Waikoloa Village is the largest urbanized population center in the County in a high wildfire risk hazard area; 4. The current road access to the Village is not adequate to protect lives during evacuation events, and provide access for emergency service vehicles and crews needed to protect lives and property during emergencies. D. Need for Second Arterial Road Recognized 20 Years Ago; But Never Funded. The need for a second arterial road to protect Village residents was first recognized after the 2005 wildfire. The need has become more urgent as fire risks have increased, and population at risk has grown. Further delay is unacceptable. M Currently transportation access to Waikoloa Village is served by a single traffic artery: Waikoloa Road, which provides the only ingress and egress to and from the Village via the intersection with Paniolo Drive at the south end of the Village. Since 2004 when the Waikoloa Heights development was first proposed, the County has recognized the need for a second access road to the Village. In response to the 2004 application for approval of the Planned Unit Development (PUD #73) for Waikoloa Heights, the Fire and Police Departments,' the County councilman,' the Waikoloa Village Association' and residents submitted comments to the Planning Department on the need for a second arterial access road to link the north end of the Village and the regional highway network. This second arterial was needed then to provide both egress for residents during emergencies, and ingress for first responders (fire crews and equipment and police) based at the Puako Fire and Police stations who would be needed to fight fires approaching the Village, while residents needed an additional evacuation route. The Planning Department approved the PUD with a condition requiring Waikoloa Heights to extend Paniolo Drive north to Kamakoa Gulch to provide transportation access to the development, but did not establish any requirement for a second access route connecting Paniolo Drive to Queen Ka'ahumanu highway. In 2006 the Department of Public Works decided that the need for a second evacuation route was so critical that it would use County funds to build the Hulu emergency access road. Wildfires, and the associated smoke plume, are a real and constant threat to both human life and property. The August 2005 wildfire burned 25,000 acres, cutting off the mauka portion of Waikoloa Road resulting in severely congesting traffic on the makai portion of Waikoloa Road (Honolulu Star -Bulletin, August 2005). Waikoloa Village is one of the 'Police Department Comments, PUD/Waikoloa Heights (November 16, 2004): "Staff notes that this development will be at the north end of Paniolo Avenue and is being designed as a one-way-in/one-way-out development. This type of planning has caused serious problems in the Kana area and those involved in planning should try to learn from those mistakes. We would recommend that a firm commitment be made for the northern connection of Paniolo Avenue to provide for a second entry/exit." 'Peter S. Hoffman, County Councilman, Re: PUD Application (December 6, 2004): "The Waikoloa community will more than double in size when all three are completed. Yet, the lack of basic infrastructure for the Waikoloa area is plainly evident. Both Waikoloa Ma La'i and the County project reflect no plan for a permanent access road except along Paniolo Drive, a roadway already considered inadequate to expeditiously evacuate residents in time of emergency. Today, Waikoloa is a large cul-de-sac. Tomorrow, it will be an even larger one and immensely more crowded and unsafe. I argue that the developers, the County and the community must find a solution to the road shortfalls we now recognize and plan to construct a permanent access road, makai to Queen Ka"ahumanu Highway, from either of the two developments." ' Waikoloa Village Comments, Re: PUD Application (November 19, 2004): "The only way to get to Waikoloa Village is via Waikoloa Road, a 2 lane County road that is already straining under the existing traffic load. We desperately need a road connecting Queen Kaahumanu Hwy. with the County owned 255 acres, adjacent to Ma La'i and intended for affordable housing development, and connecting to Paniolo Avenue which traverses and feeds Waikoloa Village. The projected developments planned for the village will severely strain the capacity of the current road system and without relief will create gridlock like Kailua-Kona. The road must be built concurrent with the development of the area." G1 fastest growing urban areas in Hawai'i County and this growth is expected to continue. There is a critical need for an additional evacuation route." DPW explained that the emergency road would follow an alignment that was expected to be developed as part of the local road network for the Bridge Aina Le'a project, but that because the need for an additional evacuation route from Waikoloa Village was urgent, the County decided that the emergency road could not be delayed until the land development project went forward. Eventually, as the Bridge Aina Le'a project is completed, evacuating traffic will be able to use Bridge Aina Le'a roads. Because this route is so critical to the safety of Waikoloa Village residents, the County is proceeding with planning and construction of the road in order to have the road available for emergencies as soon as possible." The 2005 General Plan recognized a need for additional road access to the Village, but identified only one proposed road alignment connecting the north end of Paniolo Drive with Mamalahoa Highway at Airport Road near Waimea. This road would be approximately 13 miles in length crossing four major drainages that would require costly bridges. This project was not identified as a priority in the General Plan. No action has been taken to develop this access route. Despite the adoption in 2008 of a CDP that identified the second access road as the highest priority project for Waikoloa Village, the project has not been included in the CIP, or required to be constructed as a condition for the approval of new residential developments in the Village. When Mayor Roth organized a ground breaking for construction of an emergency road similar to the Hulu evacuation route in May 2024, he explained that he had a hand -shake agreement with developers to complete a route for emergency egress by the summer of 2025. That road will not have a permanent surface, will be vulnerable to washouts during rain events, no party has agreed to be responsible for maintaining the route, and will not accommodate two-way traffic for emergency response vehicles to access the Village. E. Adding New Housing in High Fire Hazard Area Without First Providing Access Needed to Prevent Loss of Life is Not Consistent With County Plans and Policies, County Charter and State Constitution. Putting another 3200 residents at risk by developing new housing in the north end of the Village before a permanent access road is open to traffic to provide a safe evacuation route and ingress for first responders during a catastrophic wildfire does not fulfill the policy of protecting the health and safety of residents and visitors, is not consistent with either the Waikoloa Village Plan in the South Kohala Community Development Plan or the policies in the draft 2045 General Plan, fails to use the general Plan to prioritize capital improvements as required by the County Charter, and violates the County's duty under Article XI, section 9 of the Constitution to provide a "healthful environment for Hawaii citizens. Simply put, the County's failure since 2008 to implement the "high priority project" adopted to protect the Waikoloa Village community from what the County determined to be "the fire threat [that] is an ever-present danger for the Waikoloa community, and [that] a second access/egress road may well prove to be the difference between successful evacuation of the 10 Waikoloa Emergency Road, Draft Environmental Assessment (Hawaii County Department of Public Works, August 2006), 1.2 Project purpose and Need, p. 1. " Id., p. 3. 6 Village and injuries and even loss of life," violates the County Charter and the State Constitution.. Approvals for Kamakoa Nui and the Nana Kai development projects now underway at the north end of the Village, miles from the only existing link to the regional highway network do not require developers to complete the additional transportation infrastructure linking the Village to the regional road network at Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway as required by the Waikoloa Village Plan. The County has not established a binding obligation on any land developer in the Village to complete an additional access road for the Village. There is no basis for expecting that additional transportation infrastructure will be available before new residential housing at the north end of the Village is built and occupied unless the Policy in the General Plan requiring alternative access routes for communities at risk from catastrophic fire is implemented by funding the "very high priority" second access road adopted in the Waikoloa Village Plan. 1. Second Road Must Be Included in 2025 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget. To protect Village residents from the loss of life that will occur if residents are trapped in the Village by wildfire, the County Charter requires that funding for the initial planning and design of the Project must be included in the 2025 CIP budget for the second road to be open to traffic no later than 2028. The County Charter requires that Capital improvements shall be prioritized based on criteria aligned with the general plan, community development plans, emergency expenditures and other pertinent functional plans." Section 10-6(a)(2). Despite the County's designation of "a second access road connecting Waikoloa Village to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway" as a "very high priority" in 2008, this directive in the County Charter to prioritize capital investments in alignment with "community development plans" has not been implemented. The project has not been implemented because no funding has been committed to the project, either by requiring the road to be constructed as a condition for the approval of new residential developments in the Village, or by including the project in the CIP. The project is not included in the proposed 2025-26 CIP submitted by the Mayor to Council. This is the 18' CIP budget since adoption of the second road as a "very high priority" in 2008 without funding for the project. This failure clearly violates the mandate of the County Charter requiring that "capital improvements shall be prioritized based on criteria aligned with the general plan and community development plans." 2. Second Road Must Be Included in 2025 CIP Budget to Fulfill County's Constitutional Duty to Protect Each Person's Right to "a Clean and Healthful Environment." "Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment." Hawaii State Constitution, Article XI, section 9. Being exposed to a high risk of death by wildfire without access to a safe route of escape is not a healthful environment. The County has a duty to protect that right through the Plans is adopts and the investments it makes in public facilities. h Long ago the County recognized the extreme fire risk to which Village residents are exposed, and adopted a community development plan that prioritized the addition of a second access road. The County's failure to implement that plan is a failure to perform the County's duty to protect the right of Waikoloa residents to "a clean and healthful environment." Prepared by Bob Yuhnke (bob.yuhnke@yahoo.com). Bob Yuhnke is a Waikoloa Village resident volunteering as director of Government Relations for Wildfire Safety Advocates of Waikoloa. Mr. Yuhnke served as 1) an Assistant Attorney General in Pennsylvania responsible for enforcement of the Clean Air Act against the steel industry; 2) senior Clean Air Act attorney at Environmental Defense Fund where he authored parts of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and directed a citizen litigation campaign to require copper smelters across the American West to comply with air quality standards and protect lakes in the Rocky Mountains from acid rain; 3) independent counsel representing the American Lung Association in litigation forcing US EPA to strengthen its National Ambient Air Quality Standard for SO2; 4) representing Sierra Club, NRDC and low income communities in legal challenges to highway expansion projects that would significantly increase community exposure to harmful truck pollution. Mr. Yuhnke is now retired.