HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0400.087 2002-2004 TESTIMONY OF
VIRGINIA ISBELL
CLIFTOS' KONA COAST O'OMA PROJECT Aectr~~
REZONING ;9„rg___ aY_
MAY 5, 2004 Dore-___ J _
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My name is Virginia fsbell, a resident of Kona, and I oppose the re-zoning of Cliftos'
O'oma property. Development in Kona is out of control and it is time to stop-take a deep
breath-and realize that we are in crisis.
This county is working with an obsolete General Plan that has no resemblance to
reality. It is out of date and should be out of sight. Anew General Plan must be updated and
adopted and all zoning must be done in conformance with a General Plan that makes sense
amidst this chaos.
Two weeks ago we had heavy rains and flooding in Kona. There was flooding along
Mamalahoa Highway from Honalo, Konawaena and south, much of it caused by unplanned
grading mauka. I saw women and kids with shovels trying to keep the runoff of slippery mud
and debris from the highway. It was the third incidence of flooding since February.
For the first time I saw a sheet of water flooding on Kuakini Highway below the
Outdoor Circle on the road fronting the new office building complex. The next day I went to
that area and found that the county had allowed a large storage company to be built just
mauka of the business center. The water runoff also went under one of the office buildings
that was built on a cement slab, and the force of water actually created water damage in the
ground-floor offices. Where's the plan? What is the county using as a guide for planning?
Who is liable?
~Ve have traffic congestion ~n Kona that is unreal. Why? Because the county has
allanred °rpe^sive pr^jects to "focd" ^larth Iona. guaranteeing that more and mcr= ;~=:•opi~
will be living in South Kona, jamming the roads while they try to make their way to work,
oayinq more and more of their incomes far aas, car maintenance, etc.
Re-zoning should only be allowed to benefit the community...not to line the pockets of
a developer. The people of Kona are not unreasonable people. But they are naught up in
~°.^~In!1 "rlth Ca$t "^re~~Cnable '1 °_C:SiCRS . f dave!opments without infrasirGC^.;:~
requirements up front and an obsolete General Plan left far behind.
Re-zoning ~s not a right. Land use is a precious resource of every person in the
.ammunity. So `ar, :he County Council has guaranteed that the rich will gel richer una the
oor viii ;e: traffc .ams. 't ..2eCS :o ~t~p. Comm. No. yOO • g7
Ref. To: P~eseN~d
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