HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1090.004 2004-2006
Murashige, Laura
From: Alex Woodbury [woodburya001@hawaii.rr.com)
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 7:53 PM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: WCDPC Pu'u Development Testimony
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I Alex Woodbury,
Would like to submit testimony concerning the development of the Pu'u areas above waimea
homesteads neighborhood.
while this land is arguably the most valuable potential real estate in Waimea for its
location and views, it is not appropriate for development.
For a variety of reasons,
I'll focus on a few that are strictly building related.
I run a successful home inspection business here on the big island and I routinely come
across locations that have been developed but are truly not suitable locations for
development and residential development at that.
The land extending from waimea town to the state forest reserve is largely thick rich
alluvial soil. It drains very poorly as we here in waimea have all observed with our
recent flooding from surface water runoff, and it is apparently much less stable in
seismic activity as has been revealed in the very recent past. The most extensive damage
that I have observed in my Earthquake Damage Assessment Inspections recently is
concentrated to those areas where houses have been built on unstable soil types such as
our right waimea dirt. The soil is expansive, compacts poorly and can become structurally
denuded once the moisture content reaches a certain level.
Having no real drainage infrastructure in the neighborhoods below, and no apparent all
encompassing plan to improve it, widen the existing road infrastructure and provide for
compensation to the existing area residents for annexation and easement, I cannot see how
on Earth such proposed development can be seriously addressed.
With regard to flooding, recent development has been clearly shown to increase rain water
runoff as a result of impermeable surfaces such as roofs driveways and roads. Developing
the land above waimea homesteads neighborhood would certainly magnify the already
significant flooding problem in the existing neighborhood and community which our county
department of public works has failed to address.
Mahalo,
Alex Woodbury
Woodbury Home Inspection Service Inc.
65-1170 Spencer Rd
Kamuela Hawaii 96743
808-322-5174 Fax 322-5178 Cell 640-1566
woodburya00lhawaii.rr.com
http://www. woodburyhawaii.com/index.html Comm. No. Q O ,y
Ref. To: preseehd
1 Ref. Gate 1 2006
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