HomeMy WebLinkAboutWiedmeyer, Carole
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Carole Wiedmeyer <seaweede@yahoo.com>
Sent:Thursday, September 10, 2026 1:59 PM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Testimony in OPPOSITION to Bills 186 and 187 (Applicant: Waikoloa Green LLC)
Aloha Councilmembers,
My name is Carole Wiedmeyer, and I am a resident of Waikōloa Village.
I am wri?ng in opposi?on to Bills 186 and 187. I am asking you to withhold approval un?l the County has funded and
implemented infrastructure improvements that will help keep residents safe during a wildfire, star?ng 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. Eighteen years later, nothing has been built. During the 2021 Mana fire
evacua?on, many residents sat in traffic for over an hour just to reach Waikōloa Road, and our popula?on was smaller
then. The state A?orney General's Lāhainā inves?ga?on 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.
Hawaii County's 2026 evacua?on study modeled expected travel ?mes under ideal condi?ons, including Waikoloa Road
being open in both direc?ons. This is a best case scenario that has never occurred in past evacua?ons. It also assumed no
obstruc?on of roads by typical obstacles during a major fire event such as roads blocked by fire, first responder vehicles,
stalled vehicles, fallen trees, and other debris. Even under these unrealis?cally op?mis?c condi?ons, the study s?ll
demonstrated that residents would experience dangerously long delays during evacua?on.
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 ma?ers most. Before approving more growth, the Council also should examine
whether the water system can meet firefigh?ng demand during an emergency across all of the development planned for
the Waimea Aquifer, not this project alone.
It is vital that you do not approve Bills 186 and 187 un?l these infrastructure needs are met with real commitments,
funding, a ?meline, and implementa?on, not just plans. Safe infrastructure must exist BEFORE adding more housing. We
are already long overdue for these improvements, and passage of these bills would make an already stressful, dangerous
situa?on far worse.
Mahalo nui,
Carole Wiedmeyer
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