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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0687.072 2004-2006 ~STIMo~vY ~ $~c.LS 22~ ~ a-~-~ FRonn l,~¢C~1 ~c~N,vsDN - ¢pEs. It's the old Carrot and the Stick game For years now the developer has dangled the Carrot (College Infrastructure) before us. They would provide infrastructurE and RENTAL space for the college until the campus was built. Then recently Chairman Stacy Heger picked up the carrot and told them they must provide something substantial related to the- college. At the last meeting, the ink was still wet I'm sure, the ; dcvelope~offered to build 20,000 sf (of what no details were offered), but build 20,000 SF on State Land. Smoke and Mirrors. How did (do) they intended to_get a building permit to build un State land n,n`'~'~ n°°~ years and thousands of dollars in fees and services for re zoning, environmental impact studies, archeological surveys, land use meetings, etc? This was the first obvious questions that came to my mind. In other words their offer was meaningless. Then last week Mr. Heger said "no university no college". He is getting pretty good at dangling the carrot don't you think. Well Mr. Heger how about doing some more of your magic by making Road #4 another requirement connecting over state land and in conjunction with the Lynch people? Let Mr. Schwab and Mr. Lynch meet at one of their clubs or at Schwab's private golf course and hammer out a deal. But make them wait on Palamanui until a legal Mauka Makai road is a sure thing and not some dried up carrot. At the very least make them wait on Occupancy of any structure until the road is built and dedicated. At the last meeting 7 passed on some interesting facts about traffic impact. Y think it deserves restating. My figures are the same as those independently arrived at by the Kona Traffic ca.a tio. Ref. Tp Ref. Date . nn~ rcocmc or ~~,r onn~ for ica Safety Committee. 4000 cars will be added to the Queen Kaahurnanu Hawaii each day by this sub division. 4000 cars at ar7 average length of 20' per car in bumper to bumper grid lock yields 80,000 feet of cars! Divide that by 5280 feet per mile and you get just over 1 S miles of traffic each day added to the already grid locked highway. I3y the way it is only 6.S miles from the airport to the Palani intersection. 15rniles ! How can any planning director in his right mind support a project with this magnitude of traffic impact! 41anc road 7.S miles of added traffic! What about Sewage Treatment waste water disposal, they have eliminated the golf course, good say some of you we don't need another golf course, but wait where does the sewage treatment water go. Into the lava tube system like at the long proposed public golf course across from the Harbor? Don't we pollute the ocean enough already. At the last meeting the developer said they would make the water available to the state and county to water their plants. Give me a break. Who will pay for an irrigation system to water the bogies along the queen highway and how much water cuuld it possibly use. This is serious and all we are offered is smoke and mirrors. Again, where is the planning director hired to protect our interests. We don't need the work! Last week West Hawaii today had a Great series of articles on the cost of living in Paradise. One of the topics was the high cvst of housing and in particular rentals. Developers and contractors are importing construction worker from the mainland because all able bodied local people are already working and they need the help to keep up with the vn ~o.a~ f1~11! /G.QGQ7.C GT:bT QRRZ/QT/GA work currently on the books. These imported workers have to live someplace and this only adds to the supply and demand problem of rental housing. Can't blame the landlords if they can raise the rents and make more income but where do the local working people live? They are bing forced out of their Homes. These imported workers also add to our school loads and naturally add to the traffic problems. Affordablc housing. 200 units is the figure Y heard that Palamanui must provide. 'Nord on the street is that Palamanui is already marketing the pods of housing to individual developers. These developers know that affordable housing does not mix well with million dollar plus home or condos. They will try everything they can to get out of this requirement just as they have successfully done in the past. You don't see any mix currently of affordable housing with multimillion dollar homes do you? Bate and Switch ;they think first get the approval then come back and ask for changes. That is what they are doing with Makalei Drive. Restrictions were impose and assurances were given by Virginal Goldstein, (Makalei Drive to remain in private ownership and as a minor road, to be used exclusively for access to abutting property and NOT as TH)=, required Mauka Makai connector) and now the developers with the Planning Directors help, are before you asking to be let off the hook. Well, they had there chance to build a legal Mauka Makai road when they started Makalei Estates but that would have resulted in less lots to sell, they knew they could cvrnc before you at a later date (NOW) and ask to be let off the hook because of what they would give to the community college. Whoops, maybe no college. Finally and thank you for your indulgence. If a developer came before you with a fresh proposal to build Makalei Estates and Palamanui as shown on their current sct of maps you would toss them out on their ear. Even Mr. Yuen could not condone a connector road with 15 and 18 degree slopes a stop sign mid way through the road and two sharp 90 degree turns to make the contorted connection between Makalei Drive and University Drive. So what if the use of this dangerous road as an illegal Mauka Mal`ai connector road results in injury and loss of life and huge law suits against the county? Please don't say "so what" and please don't pass these bills.