HomeMy WebLinkAboutRizzo, B. Marie
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:marie rizzo <bmrizzo@hotmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, September 10, 2026 10:39 AM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Testimony Regarding Bills 186 and 187
Aloha Council Members,
My name is B. Marie Rizzo, 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 affordable
homes. I am asking you to withhold approval until the County has funded and constructed infrastructure that
keeps residents safe during a wildfire. Specifically, I am asking you to withhold approval until a second arterial
road that provides access in and out of Waikoloa Village is constructed, operational, and open to traffic.
Waikōloa Village has one road in and out for nearly 7,000 residents. The County's 2008 Community
Development Plan (CDP) 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 and thousands of new residents before a second
arterial road exists puts current and future residents in danger of loss of life and property.
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 ensure that 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 affects many young children. Waikōloa Elementary and Middle School have no buses on site
during the school day. Thus, in a fast-moving fire, students depend on the same single road as everyone else.
The CDP recognized the need for a second school as the Village grows. In fact, 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 construction are completed, not just plans. Housing and safe infrastructure should move forward
together.
Mahalo nui,
B. Marie Rizzo
68-1615 Laie Street
Waikoloa, HI 96738
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