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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0400.139 2002-2004 FREDCHOLSCHUH,M.D. ~?+n.~''4 Tel: (808)961-8264 Cunnci! Member `'•'t ~ Fax: (80R) 961-8913 yld~s~ .,h ~ r. L', HAWAI7000NTYCOUNCIL County of Hawai `i . _ Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 September I5, 2004 MEMORANDUM TO: James Y. Arakaki, Chair, and Coundl Members l~ FROM: Fred C. Holschuh, M.D. _ ' SUBJECT: Bi11178 Aloha. For your consideration and for all concerned citizens, l wanted to share a few thoughts in writing about Bill 178. We acknowledge that development in Kona, coupled with existing traffic, is a real issue. People are frustrated, and with good reason. With frustration comes anger and reactionary emotion. We hear, "moratorium." Now we hear, "Concurrency no more unless and until things are set right." There is a powerful attraction to this thinking. It makes a statement. It appears to respond to all the clamor we've heard about Kona traffic. The problem with saying "no" is that we sacrifice saying "yes" to other good principles and social benefits. So we're left wondering is there any middle ground for our discussion of Bill 178? I think there is, but it requires a measure of temperance, fairness and reason. For this, we need to summon an open mind. The philosopher Aristotle once said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." That's what I'd like us to - entertain a few thoughts on their merits as grist for decision-making. We have heard that we should uphold the mayor's veto because the Clifto's project will add more people, more commerce, and more traffic to an already clogged two-lane highway. And, as long as Queen Kaahumanu Highway remains atwo-lane road, that's true. That viewpoint is compelling. On the other hand, we know that the state Department of Transportation is committed to widening Queen Kaahumanu to four lanes. We're stumped, though, because we don't know precisely when or how fast this will be accomplished. Let's review the record. I Comm. No. '-ADO. Ref. To: Preseot~ q~ llau~ai'i Counq~ is an h.t)mil Oppnrnmil,l' Prrorn4'r nrid t;mp(n°er Ref. UQtB ~FP ~ LU~4 In 1997, in its annual Report to the Governor, the state Highways Division stated: "The department continues to work to increase the corridor capacity of our highways. On Hawaii, we have comp/eted studies for widening of Queen Kaahumanu Highway." That was seven years ago. Six years ago, in 1998, it was reported that traffic on Queen Kaahumanu had exceeded its carrying capacity. Where do things stand today? On May 17, 2003 Governor Lingle named three projects to ease traffic along Queen Kaahumanu. They were: (1) widening the highway for about two miles north of Kailua-Kona, though there was no cost estimate yet; (2) resurfacing of 30 miles of the existing road at a cost of $10 million; and (3) adding guardrails and shoulders over the same stretch of highway for $8 million. Governor Lingle cautioned, however, that there was little money available. She said the state's "revenue picture keeps getting smaller and smaller" and said we have to "live within our means." It's worth noting that the grim picture the governor painted a year ago looks far better today. Visitor arrivals and spending, construction activity, and real estate sales are all booming. In .luly and August this year, state tax receipts were up a whopping 26% from a year ago. Total state tax receipts this year may be $100M more than projected. Given these facts, it's time to reconsider whether we can catch up overdue highway construction. In November last year, at a meeting of the governor's West Hawaii Advisory Committee, Glenn Yasui from the state DOT, declared drat Phase I of Queen Kaahumanu from Henry Street to Kealakehe Parkway would be out to bid in April 2004. As for Phase II -widening Queen Kaahumanu from Kealakehe Parkway to the Keahole Airport -the state's funding plans and timetable remained indefinite. On May 9 this year, Mayor Kim said he was working with state DOT director Rodney Haraga to speed up widening of Queen Kaahmmanu. The first half of the 8-mile stretch from Kailua-Kona to the airport was reported to cost $25 million, with no funding in place to even plan the second halt. On April 2, 2004, Congressman Ed Case announced House approval of a major transportation bill, including projects on our island. Congressman Case said, "The roughly $1 billion for Hawaii surface and ferry transportation is vital not only to address urban congestion on Oahu, but also the rapidly-growing cities, towns and communities of the Neighbor Islands where traffic and inter-island travel have emerged as top concerns." How much of that $1 billion is headed our way? Not much, really. For Queen Kaahumanu, Phase IC $4.85 million. That's a start, but not nearly enough. How much federal funding will be forthcoming in the next few years? On what timetable will the state appropriate its share of funds to complete Queen Kaahumanu? To help us get a handle on these questions, Chairman Arakaki wrote a letter to Governor Lingle on September 1. To date, we have received no reply. Just a month ago, though, the governor told the Big Island Business2Business magazine: `7 think a major role of the state government is to try to improve state facilities and infrastructures to accommodate growth. On tlae west side, that means tlae Queen Kaahumnau Highway, getting that resolved. " We know there is momentum on this issue, but we can'Y seem to pin it down. Meanwhile, Mr. Morris and his partners requested rezoning for their 83-acre project. Do we kill that 2 project because we have no clear picture of the Queen Kaahumanu widening schedule? Let's look carefully at what we would kill if we nixed this pruject. We would sacrifice a gift to the County and the people of Kona of 17 acres of beautiful shoreline with a 300' setback. That gift adjoins Kohanaiki's shoreline, also gifted to the County. It's a beautiful and rare stretch of pristine, white sand beachfront. It's worth millions of dollars. It's being offered to us as an outright gift. We would lose a negotiated 20% complement of affordable housing offered by the developer on-site. That's double the requirement required by law. We need affordable housing in North Kona and we need people who step forward to build it. We would lose a rezoning of property from industrial to commercial/residential zoning. A lot of noxious enterprises can occur on industrial-zoned properties. Do we want eyesore industries adjacent to NELHA? Is this the first impression we want to register with visitors arriving at our airport? We would lose a good neighbor to the Natural Energy Lab. Their executive director has testified in support of Clifto's. Why? Because this project will provide housing shops, places to buy lunch, and a business hotel in one location. It's a model of concentrated "smart growth," not sprawl. Does it make sense to have a business hotel adjacent to a successful research and development park? 1 think so. When a West Hawaii campus of the University of Hawaii is built within two miles, will this hotel serve that university community? I think it will. It's been suggested that the Clifto's project will serve as a kind of"Keauhou North." In other words, a North Kona alternative to the Keauhou Shopping Center. Will this relieve traffic for all the North Kona residents who must head south daily to shop? 1 think it will. On a broader scale, we see a conflux of land preservation initiatives in South Koua. Governor Lingle and Rep. Herkes are committed to a vast Soutlt Kona Wilderness Area. Senator Inouye Itas voiced Iris support to preserve the historic Hawaiian fishing village of Milolii. The Nature Conservancy has bought huge tracts of native forests in South Kona to preserve in perpetuity. The Hokulia project is mired in litigation. The Alii Highway project is on hold. In all these matters, iYs clear that development in South Kona will be greatly curtailed. Where, then, will "smart growth" planning be implemented for the inevitable growth that faces us? The answer is clear. We must look north. That was the vision of Governor Burns and Mayor Shinichi Kimura many years ago. That vision gave birth to the Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kohala's world-class resorts, beginning with the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel built by Laurence Rockefeller. That planning today provides much of our employment base, along with a hefty tax base for services throughout our island. Within this greater scheme of a forward- looking world-class North Kona community, the Clifto's project is a good fit. It will provide jobs and housing where people live and work. Do we want to scuttle all this in a single vote today? Or should we keep working on the real problem? The real problem is getting a highway built to meet the concurrency standard we all want. Nixing Clifto's won't widen Queen Kaahumanu. But nudging our state and federal officials to fund and build Queen Kaahumanu as rapidly as possible does make sense. 3 There is a great irony in the fact that hundreds of emails and testimonies have been directed to us to kill the Clifto's project, but none to state officials to get on with widening Queen Kaahumanu. Would it help if more people found it within themselves to say yes, not always no? In an email dated September 13th to rally opposition to the Clifto's project, Jerry Rothstein wrote: "concurrency means Queen K. Highway would be widened to handle the increased traffic before that traffic is generated. Hoping that the state will fund and widen QK before the Clifto project is finished is irrational. A token but inadequate gesture towards concurrency was made but the bottom line is that the entire project can be built before the highway is widened." Let's examine Mc Rothstein's statement. It's not irrational to "hope the state will fund and widen Queen K." It's absolutely essential that we do so. But he is correct that it will take more than hope. It will take work and coordination. We should all commit ourselves to that work and advocacy. Mr. Rothstein also says, "A token but inadequate gesture towards concurrency was made but the bottom line is that the entire project can be built before the highway is widened." Is delayed occupancy of the project on a three-to-five year plan tokenism? Let's be clear about this. Yes, project construction may proceed at a pace faster than Queen Kaahumanu. But if the project is not occupied by real people driving automobiles for a number of years, it's impact on traffic will be minimal. Buildings don't drive cars. People do. So the real issue is occupancy. When will it occur? In talking over this matter with Mr. Fuke, the project consultant, I wondered aloud if the project's final stage occupancy might be extended to seven years until 201 I . Clifto's is willing to extend occupancy on these teens. Will that buy us enough time to finish Queen Kaahumanu widening by 201 I? The honest answer is that none of us know today. We need to work with the mayor, Governor Lingle, and our congressional delegation to get a better picture of the funding commitments to complete Queen Kaahumanu. What Pm suggesting is that the responsibility for concurrency does not rest solely on the developer. The developer has already committed $750,000 for its share of Queen Kaahumanu plans. It's up to government to fulfill its responsibility to meet a concurrency standard now. So we have our work cut out for us. If we roll up our sleeves, what will we do? Will we kill the Clifto's project and all the benefits it brings to our community? Or will we get our act together and do the sensible thing. 1 think the sensible thing to do is to support a good project on its merits and speak with one voice to get this highway built. 1 noticed the other day an editorial in West Hawaii Today welcoming the arrival of the Superferry in two years. That ferry arriving in Kawaihae will offload hundreds of people and up to 200 cars and 15 trucks. We need to fix our focus. It belongs on getting Queen Kaahumanu built within this decade. With that focus, we can vote for awin-win. I ask you to entertain that thought with an open mind. Thank you. 4