HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0019.012 2002-2004 December 12, 2002
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RE: Bill #4, Maurice Thomas Proposal for Lumber Warehottsfe ~ ~Vi~lcatio ~ `1
Dear Council Member Leithead-Todd, ~ ,
Thank you for taking the time to read this. My name is Kathleen Porter. My family and I moved to
Volcano from O' ahu 23 years ago. 1 reside on the property immediately adjacent to the existing True
Value hardware store and the proposed commercial expansion to include a lumber warehouse and
equipment rental facility.
I oppose the application for rezoning for the following reasons:
I. fight-industrial uses such as a lamb r warehou a and ma hin ry g ~ipment rental threaten
the existing economic ba a of th omm unity Volcano iv the perfect example of ~ f ~l e. o
tourism. Preservation of th ~ni ~ .fragile and irrepla abl Kara r of Vol ano's "b'ain
Street "where there are a lodgg hPd AIIfI FITPAI[FACYs =~+Anrwnt~ art and craft galleries and
small retAil stores is essential to the commnaity' abili to attract those visitors who seek R&R
in Volcano's quiet, natural settin¢. Large lumber trucks along Old Volcano Road do not mix well with
local pedestrian traffic and visitors walking to restaurants and stores and children riding their bicycles to
Volcano School of Arts & Sciences, which is also located on this same road. Existing businesses such as
my own and Kilauea Lodge are put in jeopardy by this type of development in the village center.
2. The lumber warehouse and epyipmeot rentAl facility are incompatible with my two existing
businesses. Volcano Country Cottages consists oftwo B&B cottages, and Wellspring Center for Yoga
and Healing Arts offers massage and acupuncture to local residents and visitors , as well as classes in
yoga and meditaion and day-long and weekend programs that promote healthy living. Hawaii County
has granted me two separate use permits for these businesses, the most recent, one year ago, for the
wellness center. Opening the wellness center required me to go into debt, as well as taking much time and
effort to renovate the family home and make other necessary improvements. Not on would the
disruption during construction force me to clo a down operations during that time the noise of
the warehouse activiti on a r gular basis thereafter threaten the quiet rural nature on which
our B&B cottages depend. I do not believe that my businesses would be abl to s ~rviv thic
intrusion. and as I am already f eling the effects of this many months-long~plication process
on my income my family and I have decided to ell our propgrty~nd are now pt~pari°g to move
However, selling a B&B and wellness center next door to a lumber warehouse could prove difficult, and
the value of all that 1 have put into the businesses would be diminished by this. Furthermore, we are
not the only neighbors to be adversely affected by thj3 prof Won't the delivery, stacking, cutting
and loading of lumber and metal roofing and the testing and maintenance of rental machinery create
ongoing noise and disruption for all the nearby neighbors, including those along the back and side
boundaries of the property? As anyone who lives in Volcano can tell you, trees do not act as a buffer
for noise. What guarantees are there that all activities will be conducted inside the proposed warehouse
structure? What difference will this make if the doors are not required to be kept closed? How realistic
is it, in terms of healthy working conditions for employees, etc., to require that this a114~libn~'Ih •
File No.
Ref. To:
Ref. Date DEC 2 4 2002
Far from offering noise control, the uninsulated metal buildings will just exacerbate the noise problem.
3. The applicant has a poor track record for complying with conditions set by the County
Council. and there are few remedies in place for addressing anv damages once they are done
Shrill burglar alarms that sounded in the night repeatedly woke my family and our B&B guests, along
with bright orange lights that lit up the inside of the cottages. This situation took years to he resolved,
and then only under the threat of a court order and when an application for a liquor permit for the
restaurant required a final approval process with the Planning Department, therby forcing compliance.
4. Industrial-tvoe services should be nlaced in specially-designated areas nearby where they arg
still available to residents. but do not impinge on the fragile character of the village n r.
Lumber warehouses aze not placed along Kamehameha Avenue in downtown Hilo or Ali'i Drive in
downtown Kailua-Kona, but are located in specially-designated areas nearby, along with other business
of a more industrial nature. W.H: Shipman. Ltd.. by way of CEO Bobky~ooper has offered to
discuss with the community and the County. the poc ibili y of a small husines park located on a
portion of a 300-acre parcel owned by them behind Hwv. 11 across from the Volcano olid waste
transfer station. This is an area that could be developed so as not to impinge on nearby residences and
can be easily accessed from Volcano Highway, without large trucks ever having to drive past a single
residential property.
5. Volcano is located adjacent to a Cinited Nations designated International Biosphere Reserve
and World Heritage Site. As the gatewaX to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park the i!l visitor
destination in the State of Hawaii Volcano serves as a buffer to these spgcial areas and is on of
the only remaining upland native forests in Hawaii. Volcano's health as a buffer is consid r d
crucial to the health of these forested preservation sites. Removal of large swaths of forest, in
contrast to hand-clearing smaller areas for home building sites, destroys native habitat and leads to
greater destruction of this essential buffer zone.
6. Allowing a lumber warehouse and equipment rental facility in the village center would
subvert the intention of the Volcano Vision 20/20 Plan that was created through the participation of
hundreds of Volcano residents only six years ago. This Plan, which was widely advertised and mediated
by outside facilitators during dozens of meetings over several years' time, was a sincere effort on the
part of many within the community to create an open process that would establish guidelines for future
growth, The greatest majority of survey respondents in Volcano listed as their top priorities the
preservation of the peaceful, rural nature of the community. and the preservation of the forest.
The final Plan was forwarded on to the County Planning Department, but has been stalled by the
complaints of a vocal minority, who aze now taking potshots at it from the sidelines and claiming that it
is not representative of the views of the majority of Volcano residents and that it destroyed the Volcano
Community Association, and so on. People objecting to the Plan, including the applicant who has been
at the forefront of the effort to discredit the Plan, appear to reject any kinds of guidelines. Additionally,
most people objecting to the Plan, when questioned, reveal that they have neither seen nor read it and
cannot state what their specific objections are. A few will insist that the Plan dictates what color they
must paint their houses, further indicating that they have never read the Plan, the main focus of which is
guidelines for growth along the commercial corridor of Old Volcano Road.
7. The General Plan. while still under review. should allow for even more community input in
the planning process so that communities throughout the island are empowered and existing
small businesses are not destroyed by incompatible uses imposed gp,Qn them. The County
Council has the authority to implement creative solutions that could allow for a way of addressing the
severe polarization that has developed within our community (and other communities azound the island)
over these kinds of issues. The C'nunty must fiear some of the respnnsibi(ity fr~r this situation, as it has
consistently approved rezoning of
projects after the fact. If win/win solutions can be promoted through
County-instituted policies and decisions, it will work far better than the win/lose decisions that must
currently be handed down on a case-by-case basis. This latter approach results again and again in rifts
within communities that only get deeper and harder to heal.
It may be that some residents would be less fearful of commercial zoning if they knew that the uses that
were permitted in that zone would not threaten the irreplaceable qualities of community life. By the
same token, others might be less fearful of regulations if they believed that they could truly participate in
creating those regulations in away that would address their needs. To this end, community-based
planning could be revisited in Volcano. aad could be a process req ~i~ red by this Council as a way
to find a solution to our continuing community~pheaval. Further. a refinement of the 7.oning_
Code with a fresh look at nermitted uses and/or exploration of Special District Designations
within selected communities. would go far in suuporting the aims of empowering communities.
8. Good lap nning.is flexible and allows for creative solutions to complex problems. While any
approach to community-based planning is likely to be complicated and involve a certain amount of
conflict, a planning process that is initiated by community members is vulnerable to questions regarding
motivations. Community planning that results from the County taking the lead, can set up a situation
whereby all stakeholders who wish to have their particular views represented are helped to understand
that they must participate in the process in order for that to happen. Investing the time it would take to
reach an agreement among community members on aCounty-instituted, (and fully mediated) process is
worthwhile when considering how this offers the greatest chance for mitigating lengthy, drawn-out
controversies such as this one and helps to avoid such upheaval in the future. Such an approach allows
the County and the community to become partners working together towards the shared goals of
harmonious, healthy relationships among ourselves and effective long-range planning.
I ask you to deny this application. and to seriously consider exploring new and innovative
aonroaches for addressing these urgent communityplanning issues. I believe that the County
Council. as the authoritative. decision-making body that it is. can do much to heln lead us all in
the right direction.
Thank you,
Kathleen Porter
P.O. Box 545, Volcano, HT 96785
967-7960