HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0060.003 2000-2002 JoAnn L.K. Veincent
30 Pilipa`a Street
Hilo, HI 96720
03 `Apelila 2001 r
fia~a_ sy_
To Members of The County Council, o~"~ CO1"c61
My name is JoAnn Veincent and I reside at 30 Pilipa`a Street, Pana`ewa,
Hawaiian Homelands. I appear before you regarding rezoning of TMK 2-2-40: 14 & 69
belonging to Matsuno Enterprises. I am not anti-development. I realize that the
proposed project for said property will generate added tax revenues to the county.
However, there are some concerns I have that I hope will be taken into considersation
before you grant the rezoning request.
Flood -There are two {2) parcels involved in this request. One parcel, the one
closest to Pu`ainako Avenue is in the flood zone. I have lived on this present address
since April, 1966 and have experienced heavy rains and some flooding. However, the
November, 2000 flooding was the worst I`ve ever seen -very frightening. The
applicant`s property was flooded to the "max". The entire property was filled with water
looked like Leleiwi Beach. We were up from approximately 1:00 A.M. watching the
situation get worst. The current of the flow was so strong there were all kinds of
debris floating by -lumber, chicken coops, gas tanks, etc. The water was so high, it
was approximately 1/2 foot before it would have flow~i `into our property. We were
blessed that the rain eased up by day break. After the water subsided, we had not
only all kinds of `opals but also dead chickens. We were informed that there is a 30
foot wide drainage easement between the project site and houselots along Pilipa`a St.
As we have experienced in the November flooding this buffer zone wasn`t sufficient.
Mother Nature has no regards for bounds but we do. We can alleviate future problems
with better developmental plans. I hope the drainage easement can be increased at
least to a maximum of 200 feet. The applicant, I am sure, is aware of the flooding
problem as his rental dwelling was badly flooded. His tenants' automobiles were
submerged in water.
r f i - As we all know, traffic at Pu`ainako, approaching Prince Kuhio is heavy.
The outbound traffic from the project will have to be either right into Kanoelehua or
right into Pu`ainako. Pilipa`a Street runs into Pu`ainako and making a left from Pilipa`a
St. is very difficult at times. Because we live there, we know what days and hours to
attempt making left turns. When traffic is too busy, we do 1 of 2 things: We either make
a right on Pu`ainako and turn around in Prince Kuhio or we drive back to blocks to ~ ~ ~
Corr~xn. N®. •
File N®. , ~
~r~s~~ ~ L
Ref. dot
TA...~'.....il... ti._.......
page ~
County Council
April 03, 2001
Ohuohu St. and make the left here because the bulk of the traffic turns into Prince
Kuhi®.. This was brought to the attention of the developer. He informed us that the
traffic engineer of M. & Pacific Inc. acknowledged that "there will be understandable
traffic conflicts with Pilipa`a Street"; however, the outbound traffic or exiting traffic from
Pilipa`a St. should be in the A.M.s while the outbound traffic from the project site would
generally be midday and the afternoon. He also stated that the project will generate
some measure of traffic impact and has to work closely with the residents, County and
State system on the matter to design an access system that minimizes impact to the
broader community. I find that the traffic engineer`s conclusion on the outgoing and
exiting traffic from Pilipa`a Street is not accurate. We live there, we experience this
everyday. °There is no time table on this -outgoing traffic occurs all hours of the day
except for the early A.M.s and late P.M.s.
I hope you will take these into consideration before making your decision. I
thank you for allowing me to voice my mana`o.
Sincerely,
JOANN VEINCENT