HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0019.040 2002-2004 RE: Application for Rezoning in Volcano Village
Applicant: Maurice Thomas
January 2, 2003 I, RECeweb
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Mr. Curtis Tyler
Hawaii County Council
Dear Mr. Tyler,
The December 17, 2002 hearing for the rezoning request by Maurice Thomas for a
lumber warehouse in Volcano was an important one for many residents of this
community. We would like to express our appreciation for your bold leadership at the
meeting. We are grateful for your concern regarding the issue of permitted use in CV
zoning, and agree with you that a lumber warehouse and equipment rental business
are not allowed in this district. Thank you for bringing this point forward with such
clarity and focus.
As you review the teslimony and information in consideration of the upcoming full
Council meeting on January 8, we would like to ask you to consider the following
points:
While some residents of Volcano may not oppose the presence of a lumber
warehouse or small equipment rental shop, it is the location of the proposed
development that is problematic. Light-industrial businesses, as they may be needed
in the future, should be located in an appropriate area nearby. Allowing such a
development in the "living room" of our community, where our many visitors and
guests are received and welcomed into the area, would set an unfortunate
precedent for the future of Volcano and would threaten the economic base that so
many area residents have worked so hard to build and on which they have staked
their future.
Old Volcano Road, through the heart of the Village, is where future commercial activity
is designated. A close reading of the Hawaii County Code reveals that "lumber,"
"warehouse" and "equipment and machinery rental" do not appear on the list of
permitted uses within CV zoning, and are not specified as a permitted use until
"Industrial-Commercial Mixed Districts" (MCX) and "Light Industrial District" (ML)
designations (see attached exerpts from Hawaii County Zoning Code). Further, in
describing the intent of the MCX and ML Districts, the Zoning Code states, "The intent
of this district is to provide for areas of diversified businesses and employment
opportunities by permitting a broad range of uses, without exposing nonindustrial
uses to unsafe and unhealthy environments" and "applies to areas for business
and industrial uses which are generally in support of but not necessarily compatible
with those permissible activities and uses in other commercial districts." Clearly
these zoning designations were established to avoid exactly this kind of
inappropriate mix of uses. We believe that the Planning Department's N 9.
recommendation is based on a mistaken reading of the permitted
File No.3
13e4.
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zoning.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) recently announced plans to designate $1 million
to "stragegically manage the growth of Hawaii's visitor industry in a manner
consistant with our economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources
and community interests" (see attached article). This plan demonstrates that this
State agency recognizes the proven economic value of eco-tourism throughout the
state. Nowhere has eco-tourism developed more successfully and more in
keeping with these stated goals than in Volcano, the #1 tourist destination in the
entire state of Hawaii. To allow a lumber warehouse to be built in the buffer zone to
a United Nations-designated World Heritage Site and International Biosphere
Reserve, would undermine the efforts of HTA to protect these resources and their
obvious economic potential.
Maurice Thomas' plans for future growth of his businesses would have a greater
chance of being enthusiastically received by the community if his plans were more
appropirate in relation to the existing character of the community. Further, a
willingness to work cooperatively with community members in a way that is consistent
with the fragile qualities that not only make this community unique, but which are the
hallmark of what attracts many visitors to this area, would go far in garnering more
support for his plans. The stakes are just too high and the planning considerations
just too open to interpretation to allow one person's wishes for business
expansion to dictate such a drastic change in direction for an entire community.
This is all the more the case when so many people in the community worked so
tirelessly for several years to help create a comprehensive community plan, the goals
of which are subverted by this proposal.
The County Council has the authority to make decisions regarding such matters. It is
necessary that we work to ensure that future commercial development in Volcano is
consistent with principles of good planning that will protect exactly those delicate and
irreplaceable qualities on which Volcano's economic health is based.
Thank you for your careful consideration of these matters,
ee Wenner Hunter Byer ~ Be Wright Jones
Steph nie K. Grout Martha Lockwood Wend~ln~
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athleen Porter ~ Alan McNarie