HomeMy WebLinkAboutHernandez, Serena
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Serena Hernandez <serena.leilani@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, September 14, 2026 7:58 AM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Opposition to Bills 186 and 187
Aloha Hawaii County Council Members,
The question before you is not whether Waikōloa should grow. Growth is inevitable. The question is
whether growth will be responsible, safe, and sustainable.
Every one of us understands that Hawai ʻ i needs housing. Every one of us wants local families to have the
opportunity to live, work, and thrive here. Bill 186 and Bill 187 is not a choice between housing and no
housing. It is a choice between planned growth and reckless growth. Today, I ask you to vote no on Bills
186 and 187 because Waikōloa's infrastructure is already struggling to support the residents who live
here today. Approving hundreds of additional homes before addressing known and longstanding
deficiencies places both current and future residents at unacceptable risk.
For nearly 7,000 residents, Waikōloa Village still relies on a single primary road in and out. The need for a
second access road was identified as a very high priority nearly two decades ago, yet it remains unbuilt.
Meanwhile, development continues to move forward. The lesson from Lahaina should not be forgotten.
We know what happens when communities become trapped during a fast-moving wildfire. We know
evacuation routes matter. We know minutes matter. And we know that once a disaster begins, it is too
late to wish we had built the infrastructure beforehand.
Many Waikōloa residents experienced this fear firsthand during the Mana Road Fire evacuation. Families
sat in traffic wondering whether they could get to safety. Parents worried about their children. Kupuna
worried about whether they could get out in time. That happened before hundreds more homes were
proposed. When government approves growth without first providing safe evacuation routes, reliable
water resources, and adequate public facilities, it sends a troubling message: that new rooftops matter
more than the people living beneath them. Growth should improve a community, not increase its
vulnerabilities.
A home is more than four walls and a roof. A home should come with reasonable confidence that your
family can evacuate during an emergency. A home should come with sufficient water resources for daily
life and firefighting. A home should come with schools that can accommodate the children who will live
there. Those are not luxuries. They are the basic responsibilities of responsible planning. If these bills are
approved now, the message to residents will be clear: build first, solve the problems later. But
experience has taught us what "later" often means. We have waited years for critical infrastructure
improvements that were already identified as necessary. Promises do not create emergency exits. Future
plans do not put water in reservoirs. Good intentions do not reduce traffic during an evacuation.
Waikōloa deserves better.
I am not asking you to stop growth. I am asking you to ensure that growth is responsible. Require funded
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commitments, enforceable timelines, and completed infrastructure before approving development of
this scale. Let us grow in a way that protects lives, preserves quality of life, and demonstrates that the
County has learned the lessons of the past.
Please vote no on Bills 186 and 187 until the second access road, water capacity, and school capacity
concerns have been meaningfully addressed. The families of Waikōloa deserve growth that is
accompanied by safety, not growth that outruns it.
Mahalo for your consideration and your service to our community.
Respectfully,
Serena Hernandez
serena.leilani@gmail.com
Waikōloa Village Homeowner and Full-time Resident
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