HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0400.058 2002-2004 Alooooooooha my friends, ; ;
I am humbly writing to you as I need your help. Please forgivgQJj~st
~le~~ ~[I7ere are a few
groups aggressively opposing the zoning change on my 83 acre highway ar o ed IDn the South
side of the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii.
~~~~v~f ,
We are on the County Council agenda next Wednesday, April 21 or h2 Councfl'to'~/ote on the zoning
change. Time is critical.
Following is a little background on my property and project for you. My current zoning which I can start
tomorrow is MG3A which is a very heavy industrial use with up to 50' tall metal buildings, cement
plants, junk yards, recycling centers, truck storage facilities, among other unsightly stuff! I don't want
this and I don't believe anyone else does.
This past year we were approved by the Planning Commission for up to 400 hotel rooms but have
reduced it to only 300. The proposed hotel is something like a Marriott Courtyards with a 40' height
limit, affordable, convenient and needed. Keahole International Airport is one of only a few airports in
the Nation with no lodging! We have also been approved for up to 392,000 square feet of office, retail
and commercial space, my proposed North Kona Town Center. This component will be a major
shopping center that will provide complete goods and services for our West Hawaii community. We
anticipate that it will include grocery and drug store shopping, medical and dental, Post Office,
restaurants, banking, insurance, a Park & Ride, bus stop, auto services and numerous other retail
opportunities. I have also offered to our County Government to lease to them up to 15 acres for their
West Hawaii County Government Center for only $1.00 per year and I will build it for them at my cost
and then they will lease it back at market rates! We have also been approved for up to 240 multi-family
units. As the cost of living is sky rocketing here in West Hawaii, we have also volunteered that 20% of
the multi-family units will be "affordable housing" as defined by the County of Hawaii. More info on my
project can be found on my web page at www.ooma-clifto.com
The basis and merits of my project are as follows. I firmly believe that if we afford people the
opportunity to have access to all goods and services six miles north of Kona, they will choose this
tremendous opportunity instead of driving all the way into the Kona congestion. This will include
everyone who lives up Hina Lani and Kaiminani Streets, all the people up the Kohala Coast at all the
new residential resort developments and the vast majority of the people up on the Mamalahoa Highway
all the way out to the Big Island Country Club. There are thousands of residential units that have
already been approved, that are going to be built that will add even more cars on the road to Kona. We
are talking about thousands of people and cars that no longer will have to drive into Kona to shop. Why
would anyone want to drive into Kona when they can shop for all goods and services six miles North of
Kona?? I firmly believe this will greatly assist our existing and future traffic problems and help restore
the quality of life we all demand and deserve.
If you feel the same way and believe in my project, I need your help now. As the County Council is
being inundated with negative comments from a few groups, I feel it is necessary to counter their
aggressive tactics. I've attached a letter to the County Council that I will present at next Wednesday's
meeting. If you feel it is appropriate, could you please sign it, print your name and address with phone
number and either fax it back to me at 883-8029 ore-mail it to me at clifto@hawaii.rr.com or directly to
Chairman Arakaki below. If you know of anyone else who may support this project, please contact
them and share it with them, your friends, family and neighbors. If not, we will slowly drown in a sea of
traffic and poor planning. This is very important and time is of the essence! If you wish to write your
own letter to the County Council, please do so to Chairman James Arakaki, Fax (808) 961-8912 or e-
mail at jarakaki@interpac.net
Thank you very much for your consideration and support. Please contact me with any comments or
questions. Aloha for now, ~i
Cliff M. Morris Ph: 883-3314 Fax: 883-8029 E: clifto@hawaii.rr.com Comm. No. o
Managing Member of Clifto's Kona Coast LLC Ref. To: ~
Ref. Date