HomeMy WebLinkAboutOftedal, Annette
September 9, 2026
Aloha Councilmembers,
My name is Annette Oftedal and I am a resident of Waikōloa Village.
I am writing in opposition to Bills 186 and 187. I am not opposed to housing. Waikōloa needs
more homes, including affordable homes. I am asking you to withhold approval until the County
has funded, scheduled commitments for the infrastructure that keeps residents safe during a
wildfire, starting with a second access road.
Waikōloa Village has one road in and out for nearly 7,000 residents. The County's 2008
Community Development Plan named a second access road a very high priority. During the 2021
Mana fire evacuation, residents sat in traffic for over an hour just to reach Waikōloa Road, and our
population was smaller then. The state Attorney General's Lāhainā investigation rated Waikōloa's
wildfire risk higher than any other place in the country. Adding hundreds of homes before a
second road exists puts current and future residents in danger.
Water supply during a fire is part of the same concern. When wildfire threatens the Village,
firefighters depend on a water system that can deliver when it matters most. We have raised the
reliability of that supply during emergencies with the Public Utilities Commission, and it remains
an open question there in the ongoing Act 258 rulemaking. Before approving more growth, the
Council should examine whether the water system can meet firefighting demand during an
emergency across all of the development planned for the Waimea Aquifer, not this project alone.
The same risk reaches our children. Waikōloa Elementary and Middle School has no buses on site
during the school day, so in a fast-moving fire, students depend on the same single road as
everyone else. The County's Community Development Plan recognized the need for a second
school as the Village grows, yet it named the second road a community priority even before a
second school. The road has to come first.
Please do not approve Bills 186 and 187 until these infrastructure needs are met with real
commitments, funding, and a timeline, not just plans. Housing and safe infrastructure should move
forward together.
Mahalo nui loa,
Annette Oftedal
68-1714 Kamahao Place Waikoloa, HI 96738
(916) 995-5180